Geneva family sues casino over lost moving van
The Geneva family that lost most of their worldly goods when their moving van was stolen are suing for reimbursement from the Las Vegas casino in whose lot they parked the truck.
Craig and Debbie Krzyston, their daughter Samantha and son Justin filed suit May 6 in Clark County, Nev., against the Venetian resort, hotel and casino; its parent company, the Las Vegas Sands Corp.; and Manpower, the employment agency that supplied workers for the lot.
"Everything we have ever owned or worked for was stolen from us under the guard of the Las Vegas Sands," Justin Krzyston said.
The week of Thanksgiving 2006, Krzyston helped his parents pack up their home to move near him in Studio City, Calif.
"It was so stuffed -- when you opened the door stuff would have fallen out," he said of the moving truck, the contents of which were not insured. The family towed a Jeep Cherokee on the back, packed to the gills with more stuff.
With just four more hours of driving to go, they stopped for a celebration overnight at the Venetian.
They say they were directed by the hotel staff to park their 26-foot rented moving van in a lot designed for large vehicles and were told that it was gated and guarded 24 hours a day. They parked next to the guard shack.
The next afternoon, the truck was gone. The Jeep was found a few days later, empty. The truck was discovered a month later, empty, parked in front of a downtown Las Vegas hotel.
In March 2007, Las Vegas police conducting a sting operation found some of the family's belongings -- mostly pots and pans and some clothing -- in a storage unit, along with items stolen in other moving-van thefts.
The suit seeks compensation for their stolen items and punitive damages. In it the Krzystons contend that the hotel misrepresented, either deliberately or on an insufficient factual basis, that the lot was secured, locked and monitored.
The Las Vegas Sands Corp. did not return a call for comment.
The Krzystons planned to move into a townhouse near their son. The plans were canceled when their belongings were stolen. They now live in an apartment in Studio City. Samantha has returned to Chicago and attends DePaul University.
"They (Craig and Debbie) still don't have everything they need," their son said.