BOISE — Operators of a restaurant in downtown Boise’s BoDo district report a man they’ve dubbed the “Dancing Thief.” The man came into Meraki Greek Street Food restaurant about 9 p.m. Friday, performed an attention-getting dance in front of clerks, then reportedly passed a counterfeit $100 bill.
“He came into our restaurant dancing, singing, and really putting on quite a show... Most people who (allegedly) use counterfeit money try to not draw attention to themselves. This was definitely not the case with our customer! He had our employees amused, confused, worried and all of the above!” said Farrah Kalatzakis, owner of Meraki. “If he knew the bill was counterfeit, he is definitely a 'Dancing Thief!’”
The man ordered a gyro sandwich and a soft drink to go, Kalatzakis said. He drank the soda on the premises, between additional dance routines, then left with the sandwich.
The owners did not discover the counterfeit bill until later, when a supervisor was counting out. “It was pretty obvious to tell the bill was a counterfeit; it had Chinese writing on it,” Kalatzakis said. The clerk who waited on the man was so distracted by his dancing, she failed to identify the bill as fake.
The man was captured on security camera video.
He appears to be a dark-skinned man wearing a loosely-fitting orange-flowered shirt, shorts, white socks and possibly tennis shoes.
The incident has been reported to the Boise Police Department.
If you’ve seen the so-called “Dancing Thief” or know who he is, you are urged to call non-emergency dispatch at 208-377-6790 or contact Crime Stoppers at 343-COPS (2677), www.343COPS.com, or leave a tip using the “P3 Tips” app for your mobile device.
