Stolen credit cards Bally Total Fitness

[rchick <rchicker () etiolated org>]

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/14254005/detail.html*

BOSTON -- *Six people were indicted Tuesday for allegedly stealing more than
350 credit cards from men's locker rooms at Bally Total Fitness health clubs
around the country and using the cards to get more than $350,000 in cash
advances at horse race tracks in several states.

Five residents of Massachusetts and one resident of Texas are charged with
aggravated identity theft and credit card fraud.

Prosecutors allege that Dennis Savarese, 50, of Austin, Texas, used his
memberships at two national health club chains -- Bally's and 24 Hour
Fitness -- to get access to locker rooms at gyms throughout the country. To
get into members' lockers, he used a book published by the Locksmith
Association that lists serial numbers and matching combinations for Master
Lock combination locks, prosecutors claim.

Prosecutors said Savarese stole the credit cards, then left the rest of the
locker undisturbed and put the lock back on the lockers. Most victims did
not immediately notice that they were missing a credit card, and when they
did notice, they usually believed they had simply lost the card, prosecutors
said.

[...]

The defendants are accused of stealing credit cards in various states,
including California, Maryland, Minnesota, Texas and Washington. They are
accused of using the stolen cards to get cash advances at race tracks in
several states, including Arizona, California, Washington and Missouri.

[...]

Prosecutors said the thefts occurred over a two-year period, beginning in
June 2005. Most weeks, Savarese stole between five and 10 credit cards from
as many as three different gyms, according to the indictment. The men
usually used the cards to get cash advances of between $1,000 and $9,000,
but occasionally, the advances were more than $20,000, the indictment
states. It could not immediately be determined if Savarese had retained an
attorney yet. Attorneys for the other defendants did not immediately return
calls seeking comment Tuesday. A spokesman for Bally's could not immediately
be reached for comment. A message was left at the health club chain's
Chicago headquarters.
[...]

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