Brazen thief snatches tip jar from Boca Raton bowling alley

Unclear how much money was inside jar

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Police are searching for a man who was captured on surveillance video last week stealing a tip jar from a bowling alley in Boca Raton.

The business owner said the tips are vital for his employees.

The video shows the crook casually walking by the tip jar on Aug. 8. He walks away, circles back and checks to make sure the coast is clear before grabbing the tip jar full of cash.

"(He) took the money and ran," Ronnie Belletieri said.

Belletieri owns Strikes @ Boca, the bowling alley where the incident was reported.

"It's terrible," Belletieri said. "We try to run a good show here. We try to do the best we can. We take care of our customers. I got some great employees that work here for me."

The bowling alley is located in the heart of Boca Raton and is a hotspot for patrons who sometimes offer generous tips to concession workers.

"We work hard, and so our tips are our extra (money), and they're for us, not for somebody else to come through and take them. So yes, we do depend on our tips," Latoya Taylor said.

It's unclear how much money was in the tip jar at the time it was taken.

But the business has since replaced the jar with a temporary measure.

"We're so busy that we shouldn't be focused on something that shouldn't be touched anyway," Taylor said. 

Employees hope the bold act is never repeated again.

"I would like him identified so I could at least have him banned from the building," Belletieri said. "I definitely don't want him back in here -- him or his friends, realistically."

Anyone with information about the tip jar theft is asked to call Boca Raton police.

 


About the Author:

Terrell Forney joined Local 10 News in October 2005 as a general assignment reporter. He was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, but a desire to escape the harsh winters of the north brought him to South Florida.