Tourist Arrested After Forgetting Wallet

Tourist Arrested After Forgetting Wallet (ABC News)

An Italian tourist looking for a traditional meal at an upscale New York steakhouse found himself thrown in jail when he forgot his wallet and was unable to pay the bill.

Graziano Graziussi, a 43-year-old lawyer from Naples, Italy, was arrested and held at New York's 17 th precinct on Monday night on charges of theft of services, according to New York police. Earlier in the evening he had racked up a bill totaling $208.77 at Smith & Wollensky, a steakhouse in Manhattan's Turtle Bay neighborhood.

Graziussi told Honest Cooking that he asked if he could correct his honest mistake by retrieving his wallet at his hotel and returning to pay the bill. He even offered to leave collateral.

"The moment the check arrived, I realized that I had actually forgotten my wallet at my hotel," Graziussi told Honest Cooking. "So I kindly asked the staff how we could manage the situation. I proposed to leave my iPhone with them, run back to the hotel and then come back with my wallet in 15 minutes."

The management wasn't having any of it, and called the police. A surprised Graziussi even asked if he could have an escort uptown. The NYPD's response, according to Graziussi? We're not a taxi service.

After spending a night in jail, Graziussi said that a judge dismissed the case against him, but he had to promise to show up in court to pay the bill next week.

Calls placed by ABC News to Smith & Wollensky's parent company, Fourth Wall Restaurants, were not immediately returned.

Graziussi, however, is likely to never leave the house without his wallet again.