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NY tourist robbed inside Ritz hotel in Puerto Rico

Published online on Monday, Nov. 09, 2009

The Associated Press
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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- A New York lawyer was robbed inside his room at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Puerto Rico by assailants who tied him up before dawn Monday and stole $800 in cash, police said.

The robbers bound Robert J. Anello with lamp cords and a necktie and threatened him until he gave up the password for a debit card that was stolen along with the cash from a safe, according to a police statement.

Anello's assistant at his law firm said his phone was also taken.

"He's fine. It's just we're frantically trying to get him some kind of communication device," said Donna Kolakowski, of the New York firm Morvillo, Abramowitz, Grand, Iason, Anello & Bohrer.

Six people have been arrested in the case, said police Sgt. Ricardo Haddock. He said investigators were taking fingerprints from the hotel and no further information was available.

Police said Anello, 54, declined medical attention following the robbery at one of the Caribbean island's top luxury hotels, located in the Isla Verde tourist district east of San Juan.

Hotel spokeswoman Mirem Ubarri said she could not comment on the robbery during the police investigation. She said guests' safety is a top priority for the hotel and there is no need to change security procedures.



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