Major Restaurant Identity Theft Ring Busted
By: Anthony Adragna
Published: November 19, 2011

Police and federal officials arrested a 28-person identity theft ring accused of stealing credit card numbers from customers in some of New York's finest restaurants. According to police sources, the ring may have netted around $1 million in profits from their crimes. 
Most of the accused worked as waiters in major New York steakhouses including Smith & Wollensky, Capital Grille and Wolfgang Steak, as well as Morton’s in Stamford, Conn. and the Bicycle Club of New Jersey. 
Members of the scheme targeted customers who used American Express Black and other limited edition cards to pay their bills. Waiters would use handheld scanners to copy the credit card information and send them to their associates who would create new credit cards. 
"We have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to something like this," The Capital Grille said.