Teacher loses hundreds of dollars after theft in restaurant

By Jessica Kartalija

Click here for updates on this story

    PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — A local teacher and her roommates were out for a fun night in Philadelphia’s Manayunk neighborhood when she became the victim of a brazen – and sneaky – theft.

Two suspects casually sitting inside Mia Ragazza managed to swipe hundreds of dollars in cash and credit cards from Inga Maric. She didn’t realize it until it was too late.

“We were just enjoying happy hour, and I get a credit card alert,” said Maric.

Someone had tried to use her credit card on a $500 purchase at Target.

“So, I look in my purse, and all three of my credit cards are missing,” said Maric.

Security footage from inside Mia Ragazza shows a man and a woman sitting behind Maric and her friends.

The man hangs his jacket on the back of his chair.

A few minutes later, he reaches behind his back as though he’s grabbing something from his jacket pocket.

But, he actually reaches into Maric’s purse and pulls out her wallet. He sits for a few more minutes, moving cards and cash from her wallet to his.

Then the two told their waiter, they were in the wrong restaurant.

They get up and walk out.

Brendan McGrew is a partner at Voracious Hospitality, the group that owns Mia Ragazza and Goats Beard in Manayunk.

“We download the video, we give it to the guest. Police are always welcome to come check our cameras for anything,” said McGrew.

Maric, a special education teacher at a public school in Philadelphia, had recently won a raffle for a PlayStation 5.

She had just sold the gaming equipment before meeting her friends. She says she was planning to use that money on things for her classroom.

“I don’t ever carry money. Who’s going to carry around $400? It was straight from that to here,” she said.

Restaurant owners along Main Street alert each other when something like this happens, so they can all be on the lookout.

Maric’s friends say they were shocked that the theft took place inside, and so quickly.

“They were so quick, we watched the video back and it was 3 minutes and 30 seconds from the time they sat down to the time they walked away,” said Julia Maass.

Philadelphia police say no arrests have been made.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.