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CHICAGO (WLS) — Surveillance video captured a suspect stealing from a downtown Chicago restaurant.
The theft happened shortly after noon Sunday at IL Culaccino in the 2100 block of South Indiana Avenue in South Loop, the owner said.
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It came as quite a shock for the owner of the restaurant, Frank Ruffolo. He says it all happened in broad daylight here while half the restaurant was still full with customers during the lunch rush.
The suspect came in right through the back door of the restaurant, coming away with some cash from the register and some alcohol.
The midday theft was caught on surveillance video. It happened in the back dining room that was empty. A man could be seen shuffling through the cash register at the bar as all the staff and customers were on the other side of the restaurant.
“Absurd. We had a great crowd because of the marathon and people celebrating that,” Ruffolo said. “This room was empty. We were just doing a lot of deep cleaning before dinner. The staff didn’t hear him. The cook saw him when he left because he dropped a bottle of liquor.”
Ruffolo says this is the second time this has happened there in the last three months.
The suspect left the scene on a bike before police arrived, he said. No one in the restaurant was hurt.
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It’s a frustrating trend that has Ruffolo thinking twice about his businesses in Chicago.
“You see why people don’t want to come out. I see the drop in business we’ve had here because of the crime, and it’s a shame because we’re a local business,” Ruffolo said. “We like being in this community, but when you keep having stuff like this happen, it makes for real discussions and saying, ‘Hey, is it worth sticking around for?’ You know, is the juice worth the squeeze?”
Ruffolo has also had to deal with similar crimes at Francos Ristorante, which is the other location he owns in Bridgeport. He says that restaurant has been hit three times in the last few years.
“They’re causing more damage than anything,” Ruffolo said. “There is no cash. There’s nothing going on. But, you know, they’re going to take the shot, see what happens.”
The owner said he shared the surveillance video with Chicago police and they were able to take fingerprints that were left at the scene, but at this time no one is in custody.
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