And how would you like that community service served, sir?
A former Smith & Wollensky waiter was sentenced to five years probation and 100 hours of community service today for helping a fellow waiter “skim” the American Express cards of some 60 diners.
Beefy Brian Torrey, 35, of Bronxville, NY, had worked for nine years at the upscale meat mecca before getting busted in 2011 for his supporting role in a multi-million-dollar identity theft ring.
He and fellow steak server Peter McGuire, 42, of Pearl River, NY, would be paid $500 for every AmEx Black card, and $300 for every AmEx Platinum card they could get their hands on.
The waiters would quickly skim the cards’ encoded information using a hidden, palm-held skimming devices, then return them to the customers. The ringleaders would use the information to ring up luxury goods to be resold on the black market.
Torrey was caught on phone and camera surveillance communicating with ringleader Luis Damian Jacas, who is now serving a prison term of four and a half years. McGuire is also in jail, currently serving four months for his more involved role in the ring’s criminal enterprise.
More than $1 million in pricey watches, wine by the case, and other high-end goods, plus $1.2 million in cash, were seized from storage units controlled by the ringleaders two years ago.
The ring had also paid wait staff to skim cards at Capital Grille, Wolfgang’s Steakhouse and JoJo, according to prosecutors with the Manhattan DA’s Cybercrime and Identity Theft Bureau. In all, some 265 diners had their AmEx cards skimmed between 2010 and 2011 thanks to the now busted ring.