Miami-Dade

Ex-Philadelphia weatherman testifies in Miami federal court about his “nightmare” with SoBe “Bar Girls”

 

A former TV weatherman who was fleeced by South Beach’s B-girls testified in Miami federal court about the scam that shamed him.

jweaver@MiamiHerald.com

Over several hours that night, the bar billed a half-dozen bottles of fancy champagne such as Dom Perignon, Cristal and Perrier-Jouet, running up charges of about $27,000 on Bolaris’ AMEX card. Among other items billed to Bolaris: A modernistic painting of a woman that had been hanging in the Caviar Bar. The price: $2,480.

Bolaris, whose new fiancee was sitting in the back of the courtroom, said he didn’t remember ordering the champagne or signing the credit card slips, suggesting the B-girls drugged him and forged his signature. “I don’t like champagne,” he testified.

Bolaris said he only has “flashes” of memory about that night, noting he remembered one of the B-girls putting the painting in the trunk of a taxicab that took him to the Fontainebleau.

Back in his room, he woke up in a groggy state and discovered that his Dolce and Gabbana sunglasses were missing, along with more than $500 in cash from his wallet. He also noticed the painting.

One of the B-girls, Marina Turcina, called him later that Sunday to say she and her friend wanted to return his sunglasses. She also said she hoped he liked the painting, and left her cell phone number to call her.

Bolaris said he met the girls again at the Delano and got his sunglasses from them. When he suggested they go back to the Fontainebleau to fetch the painting, they tricked him into returning to the Caviar Bar for a second night, he testified. They racked up an additional $16,000 on his AMEX card.

“The next thing I know, I was being slapped by one of the girls to wake up and she was asking me if I was okay,” testified Bolaris, who successfully sued American Express over the bar charges. “I had no clue… I’m embarrassed about falling for it.”

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