Police Investigate $100 Theft From Locker Room in Dillon

Harvard Police are investigating the theft of personal valuables and nearly $100 in cash from students' lockers in the Dillon Field House last Friday afternoon.

Wallets, cash, and watches were stolen when the locker rooms for field hockey and football were ransacked. Some empty wallets were found in the lavatories.

Steven Kaseta '78, captain of the football team, said yesterday the thieves had stolen "at least $100, probably more."

Lieutenant Lawrence Murphy said the locker room doors were secured, but a student may have left a door ajar in order to return early from practice. It is more probably that the thief or thieves had keys to the locker room, Kevin McColl of the Department of Athletics said yesterday.

Bob Scalise, women's soccer coach, pointed out that Dillon's locks are so simple that "an I.D. card could open any door simply by sticking it in the crack."

"I know one door that will pop open when it's locked if you pull hard enough. There's no one to blame here, but this is an annual occurrence at Dillon and something could be done," he said.

McColl said the Harvard Police should provide more protection. "They say we're a low crime area, but for a low crime area we have a lot of vandalism and theft," he said.

Currently, one squad car patrols the entire business school/athletic complex, with plainclothesmen drifting in and out of the area. There are six entries to Dillon and one custodian is usually on duty.

Murphy says that theft at Dillon "is an HDA problem. We can patrol the streets, but we don't have enough men to turn the buildings inside out."

Kaseta echoed most athletes affected by the incident, saying, "It happened last year, the year before, and having more cops patrol is a good idea."