Police: Foxwoods patrons robbed of free slot play
Conn. police arrest New Britain man in probe of fraudulent access of Foxwoods casino accounts
MASHANTUCKET, Conn. (AP) -- A group of people stole more than $90,000 from Foxwoods Resort Casino by fraudulently accessing the accounts of customers who were awarded free slot machine play, Connecticut state police say.
Foxwoods began investigating when a patron complained in September that $150 worth of bonus slot play had already been redeemed from her account, according to an arrest warrant affidavit for 39-year-old J. Antonio Cifizzari of New Britain. He was charged Friday with first-degree larceny, The Day of New London reported (http://bit.ly/VMzPsz ).
Casino officials learned the account had been accessed a few days earlier at a slot machine and reviewed surveillance video. A man seen on videotape at the slot machine said he and about seven others picked up rewards cards inadvertently left on the gaming floor.
Using the player names, he said they accessed Internet sites and obtained personal information about the players to get personal identification numbers.
The investigation led to Cifizzari, who allegedly gave out multiple rewards cards with PINs and the amount of money available.
Cifizzari is being held in lieu of $125,500 and has pleaded not guilty. It was not known Tuesday whether he had a lawyer.
All those who were allegedly involved in the scam have been permanently barred from Foxwoods.
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Information from: The Day, http://www.theday.com
