Armenian Wallet Thieves

My wallet was stolen on Friday. I was pumping iron at 24 Hour Fitness when somebody broke my combination lock, combed my belongings for ONLY my wallet, stole it, then relocked my locker or at least made it look enough like it had been relocked for me to think it hadn't been broken.

It could have been worse. First, they didn't steal my Guyanese lion ring, or cell phone, or bike helmet, or clothing, or anything else that was in there. Second, while I was getting dressed I heard something that sounded like it could have been my wallet falling on the ground. So I searched all my belongings looking for it--not there. That was impossible, as I had used my gym membership card in my wallet to get into the gym...I started canceling credit cards soon thereafter.

If I hadn't had heard that sound, and if I wasn't paranoid about people stealing things from me (it's happened a lot recently), they would have gone along undetected for a lot longer and running up a much larger credit card bill than they did.

phew

I am not alone--I've seen 24 Hour Fitness signs notifying customers of a recent spate of thefts for the past few weeks. Yesterday, I called up the manager, and he told me how a ring of Armenian Wallet Thieves, based out of a parking garage in Maryland, are stealing wallets at 24 Fitnesses around the country and using the stolen club IDs to gain access to more clubs. I didn't exactly follow the manager through his convoluted explanation, but somehow the money ends up in Vegas as cash advances on credit cards.

How crazy organized is that?

24 Hour Fitness pulled the surveillance tape and have pictures of the Armenian guy who stole my wallet on Friday, as he's hit locations across SF. Unfortunately, the guys working the front desk on Friday night are rarely paying attention and the screwhead got away with it.

Side note: I lived in New Haven, aka the Beirut of New England, for four years and was never robbed once. No fights, no problems, no nothing. Two years in San Francisco, liberal love basket of the US, and my wallet's been stolen, my car's been broken into at least four times, and strangers have thrown objects at me from their house three times, although they connected only once (with an orange!). What gives?