Hundreds Of Cards Stolen From Bally Total Fitness Clubs
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.
According to the indictment, Savarese gave the names on the stolen cards to two accomplices -- Arthur Rizzo, 53, of East Boston, and James DeSimone, 39, of Revere -- who arranged to have fake state identification cards made.
Savarese and one or more of the other five defendants would then fly to a horse racing track in another city, where they took large cash advances on the credit cards using the fake IDs, according to the indictment. They are accused of using the cash to bet at the tracks and to pay for their travel expenses, hotel rooms and other personal items.
Also charged are: DeSimone's father, Donald DeSimone Sr., 70, of Revere, and his brother, Donald Desimone Jr., and Richard Regnetta, 47, of Revere.
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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