Boston Restaurant Uses Social Media Blast to Help Apprehend Burglars

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Would you be willing to help your favorite local restaurant find a thief? That's exactly what popular Boston-area burrito chain Boloco is hoping its patrons will do. The Boylston Street location of the regional chain was burglarized by three men Sunday. The surveillance cameras recorded the break-in and theft of a safe-deposit box, so the restaurant owners are not waiting for the police to investigate. Instead, they decided to start their own investigation by saturating social media to try and catch the alleged crooks. In addition to announcing a $1,000 reward on its Facebook page for any tips leading to an arrest, the restaurant has also created a viral video by adding haunting music to the surveillance video and posting it to YouTube. Boloco's owners explained the video on their Facebook page by saying, "It's 2012 . . . and we think everyone needs to . . . work together to reduce and one day eliminate evil people like these three." But that was not the end of their pursuit of the criminals. Boloco CEO John Pepper also spread the word about the burglary to his 1,500 followers on Twitter. Pepper received hundreds of tweets in response, including one from a fan of the restaurant who tweeted, "They can't come up in my favorite place like that." Plus, now it looks as if Boloco's social media blast may have worked! The burrito restaurant announced on its Facebook page that it received a "juicy tip" that could lead to the arrest of the thieves.

Now for some entertainment news in reality TV. "Jersey Shore" fans are all too familiar with two of the stars of the show, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and Jenny "JWoww" Farley. Now, it looks like some of the fist-pumping may come to a grinding stop. Why? The city of Hoboken has denied MTV's filming request for a "Jersey Shore" spin-off. In a letter posted on the city's website, Mayor Dawn Zimmer explains that she denied the filming permit based on "protecting public safety and quality of life concerns." The filming ban would go into effect only in public places after 11 p.m., but considering how much Snooki and JWoww party, that would make filming nearly impossible. MTV's 495 Productions has the right to appeal the Hoboken Local Film Commission's decision by contacting the City Council. In her letter, Zimmer also states that "495 Productions had previously filmed in public areas without the required film permit in one location" and that informal "verbal agreements" were made where individuals were paid. Zimmer writes that this type of disregard for the ban would be met with "zero tolerance."