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FOX 32 NEWS - Business owners in Wicker Park are sounding the alarm after a very tall thief has targeted several of them, ripping off purses, wallets and cell phones.
“I feel violated,” said Terri Visovatti, Owner of Urban Wellness.
Visovatti's massage therapy business on North Damen was hit on Wednesday by a man pretending to want a massage. She described him as being about six foot eight. She said he conned his way into her appointment only massage center in Wicker Park by buzzing the doorway and then showing up at her second floor business.
Visovatti was with a customer at the time and another massage therapist named Amy left the man in the waiting room to attend to her client.
“He took my wallet, he took Amy's wallet and he took her cell phone he then left and I came out of the treatment room none the wiser, didn't know he was ever even really here,” Visovatti said.
She shared the man's picture and other information on social media and then learned she may not have been the only business targeted on Wednesday.
“He perfected it, he had some practice it seems like before, he was wandering the neighborhood, the first report seems to be about 1:00 o'clock in the neighborhood and then another report from the different neighborhood was earlier was around 12:00 or 12:30,” Visovatti said.
She says HealthSource on Milwaukee Avenue was victimized as well allowing the man to go on a spending spree with stolen credit cards from someone there and with hers.
“I guess he used to their credit card over at the Cricket store and I believe at Wendy's and then Amy's card, who works for me, he did try to use her card, one of her cards at Nike but it didn't go through and that was a charge for about $800. Mine was about $600 almost,” Visovatti said.
She is hoping that by getting his picture out there that someone will recognize him and alert police before the thief strikes again.