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Image capture July 2019 from Google Maps. Life Time Fitness is on Harvard Street in Westwood.
3-01-2022 10:44pm
Westwood Police Provide Details on Second Suspect in Locker Room Thefts (Updated)
Darlene Cancell
Editor
Updated 3/2/2022 at 4:45 p.m. A statement that the stolen credit card was used for a $2,000 charge for loose diamonds was incorrect. The correction indicates that the charge was $22,000, and it was for a single diamond.
Westwood Minute has learned the identity of the man who was arrested on Tuesday, February 22, 2022 in connection with thefts from Life Time Fitness. He is Mr. Ciprian Duda, a 36 year-old from Queens, New York. Westwood Police Lieutenant Christopher Sheehy credits Detective Derrick Stokes with breaking this case.
At 4:58 a.m. last Tuesday, two Westwood Police detectives travelled to the Nassau County Sheriff’s jail in East Meadow, New York, where they learned that Mr. Duda was being held. Mr. Duda waived extradition proceedings and Westwood Police arrested him and transported him to the Westwood Police Station. They arrived back in Westwood shortly before 3:00 p.m., that same day.
Mr. Duda is charged with four counts of improper use of a credit card for purchases over $1,200 and three counts of receiving stolen property under $1,200. His arrest arises from a theft that occurred on October 29, 2021. As reported last year by Westwood Minute, on that date, five credit cards and $300 in cash were taken from a wallet that was stored in a locker at Life Time Fitness. The victim was a Needham resident who had worked out, then left the gym, unaware that anything had been stolen.
After leaving Life Time Fitness, the Needham resident received a text from his credit card company. The company informed him that a purchase in the amount of $22,000 had been made with his credit card at Long’s Jewelers in Braintree. The purchase was for a single, loose diamond. The Needham resident checked his wallet and discovered that five credit cards and $300 in cash were missing. Mr. Duda’s activities have been linked to the purchases made on the stolen credit card(s).
In the course of Mr. Duda's booking, Westwood Police discovered that Mr. Duda was wanted in Johnson County, Kansas for identity theft and felony theft. Johnson County law enforcement has indicated to Westwood Police that it plans to extradite Mr. Duda to Kansas after his legal proceedings in Massachusetts are resolved.
In Westwood, the bail commissioner determined that no bail should be set for Mr. Duda. He was held overnight in Westwood until his arraignment the next morning.
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A week before Mr. Duda’s arrest, Westwood Police arrested Ms. Felicia Andrea Nastase of Weehawken, New Jersey. She was charged with conspiracy for two incidents of credit card theft from lockers at Life Time Fitness.
It remains unclear to Westwood Minute whether Mr. Duda and Ms. Nastase were working together. It does appear likely, however, that there are several additional individuals who have been taking items from lockers at Life Time Fitness.
Between May 2021 to date, Westwood Minute has reported on numerous reported cases of thefts from lockers at Life Time Fitness. The majority of the cases involved thefts from the men’s locker room.
Thieves are able to exploit a flaw in lockers, not only at Life Time Fitness, but at gyms in the larger local area, according to Lt. Sheehy. He advises gym goers to bring their own locks to use in the locker room, carry their valuables with them, or stow valuables in their vehicles.
Thanks to Lieutenant Christopher Sheehy and the Westwood Police Department for contributing information for this article.
