Ritz-Carlton Sued by Guests Who Reported Theft

SANTA ANA — A couple who reported a room burglary at the Ritz-Carlton hotel earlier this year filed suit Monday against the Dana Point resort, alleging they lost $110,000 in cash and jewelry.

Galina Menaker and Eugene Matusovsky, both of Los Angeles, said that the valuables were taken Sept. 4 from a safe in the room. The loss, they allege, included $1,100 in cash, a $4,500 Rolex watch and a pair of 19th-Century, Russian-made earrings worth $34,000.

When they returned to the room, the suit alleges, Menaker and Matusovsky discovered that the safe’s lock had been drilled open.

Ritz-Carlton officials declined to comment on the reported theft.

The hotel did not post a notice that it was not responsible for items kept in room safes, and was negligent in safeguarding the room, the suit charges.

Another hotel guest, staying in a suite on another floor, reported a similar theft at about the same time. A New Jersey surgeon and his family reported a loss of $270,000 in cash and jewelry from their suite.

Sheriff’s deputies investigating the reports said the burglaries appeared to be an “inside job,” that whoever entered the rooms probably had a key and tried to make it look like the safes had been broken into.