Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: Pennsylvania Hotels Victimized By "Con Artist" Who Checked In, Charged Meals To Room And Then Left Without Paying

“…the man who passed as a hapless hotel guest was actually a skilled  con artist who claimed he had been robbed of his wallet to persuade  receptionists to let him have a room…he promised to pay the next day, offering a phony bank  statement as proof that he was good for it…”

Larry Raymond grew accustomed to the high life during his short stays in the  city’s finest hotels, where he dined in restaurants, patronized gift shops and  enjoyed a cup of Starbucks coffee now and then. He ran up hundreds of dollars in tabs — police said he spent more than  $1,500 at the Uptown Marriott — and had it all billed to his room.

But Mr. Raymond never settled up. Mr. Raymond’s lavish run came to an end late Wednesday when police arrested  him in Room 216 of the Cambria Suites in Uptown less than an hour after he  checked in. He told a manager his wallet and credit card had been stolen.

Mr. Raymond, 55, who has no permanent address, spent Thursday in the  Allegheny County Jail. Court records show he was unable to post $50,000  bail.

“He’s a nationwide con artist,” said Detective Jack Mook of the city’s Zone 2  police station, who began investigating Mr. Raymond’s suspicious stay in  Pittsburgh last week when the security director of the Omni William Penn  Downtown told him about a guest who claimed his wallet was stolen and skipped  out on a $753 bill.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-city/police-arrest-man-who-skipped-several-pittsburgh-hotel-bills-651267/#ixzz258KJUWtK

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