Former Guard Arrested for Snatching $1.7 Million From Armored Car Outside Bally’s Atlantic City

Posted on: November 25, 2020, 12:34h. 

Last updated on: November 25, 2020, 01:12h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More

Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.

Atlantic City authorities have arrested a former security guard in relation to the theft of $1.7 million from an armored car delivering cash to Bally’s Casino.

Dante McCluney of Newark, NJ is a former employee of Rapid Armored Corporation, owner of the armed vehicle robbed by three men outside the casino on the Atlantic City Boardwalk November 5.

The men grabbed bags of cash from the back of the car before escaping in a gray Hyundai sedan. Authorities described the crime, which occurred at around 12:15 p.m., as “brazen.”

Prosecutors say McCluney was identified by former colleagues from surveillance footage taken from the scene of the crime. The former armed guard used to work on the Bally’s ATM cash delivery and was familiar with the run’s timings and procedures, they said.

Daylight Robbery

“This was a brazen burglary of an armored car on a public street in broad daylight. Out of all the crimes I’ve seen committed in Atlantic County during my tenure, this incident harkened back to something out of the 1930s,” county Prosecutor Damon G. Tyner said.

“Thankfully, we have a talented, hard working group of detectives who used old-fashioned detective work to track down Dante McCluney, and then identify the other suspects,” the prosecutor added.

Tyner added that a “substantial amount” of the stolen cash has now been recovered, although he declined to say how much. Meanwhile, the investigation is ongoing, as detectives attempt to hunt down the remaining suspects.

McCluney has been booked for burglary, theft by unlawful taking, and conspiracy. A detention hearing was held Tuesday before Judge Donna Taylor. McCluney was detained and is being held at the Atlantic County Justice Facility.

Bally’s Comeback

Bally’s owner at the time of the crime, Caesars Entertainment, declined to comment. The property has since been purchased for a rock-bottom $20 million by the company formerly known as Twin River Holdings of Rhode Island, which has now adopted the name Bally’s Corp and the Bally’s brand across all its properties.

Bally’s is Atlantic City’s poorest-performing casino, and its new owner has vowed to restore the casino — and the iconic Bally’s brand — to its former glory. Bally’s Corp promised New Jersey regulators earlier this month it would spend at least $90 million revamping the property.

The new Bally’s Corp is 32 percent-owned by New York-based based hedge fund manager Soohyung Kim, who is also the company’s chairman. It has been on a spending spree over the past few years and now owns 14 land-based casinos in 10 states.