Stolen furniture gets returned to historic Atlantic City pizza shop
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - Just a few weeks ago, FOX 29's JoAnn Pileggi was in Atlantic City, talking with the manager of Tony's Baltimore Grill, Joe Palumbo, about the recent theft that left the pizza shop without its new outdoor furniture.
The theft, which occurred less than 50 yards from the police station, would be considered a small case for Atlantic City police, so the owners of Tony's tried their own incentive.
The historic pizza joint, located on Atlantic Avenue was offering a big reward for anyone who returned the furniture. After putting up a post on Instagram and getting the community involved in the investigation, the furniture has been returned and someone received a cash reward and free pizza for life because of it.
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"The story is somebody stole the furniture and sold it to this family. They didn't realize they had bought stolen furniture, so the person brought it back," said Palumbo.
The AC family said they wanted to remain anonymous, so the cash and the lifetime supply of pizza went to the person who noticed the pilfered patio furniture in his neighborhood.
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"As for the thief, I hope PD detectives track them down and charge them," said retired AC detective, Bob Riley.
Tony's owners have bigger plans in mind, though.
Instead of pressing charges, Tony's wants to offer kindness and food, instead.
"We'd rather them man up and come in and say, ‘I'm the one that stole it and sold it,' and then we'd offer to get them help and or help with food," said Palumbo.