The Region - News from July 14, 1986

A federal magistrate set bail at $50,000 for a Venice restaurateur accused,along with his wife, of fraudulent use of nearly 1,000 American Express card numbers and passing them at a Los Angeles-area bank. Jack Gallo, co-owner of Gallo’s New York Lobster, was indicted along with his wife, Gail, who was released on her own recognizance. An attorney with the Los Angeles Organized Crime Strike Force said banks and merchants may have lost up to $500,000 as a result of the alleged scheme, in which customers’ credit card numbers were allegedly transferred to blank forms and then used to make unauthorized charges.