Locker room door unlocked during theft

According to Al Bagnoli's memory, the type of theft that took place on Feb. 18 in the George A. Munger Locker Room, had never occurred in his 11-year tenure as head football coach at Penn. Approximately 20 football players had $1,200 worth of wallets, cell phones and personal property stolen out of their lockers at Franklin Field, according to a Penn Police Report. There usually is tight security at the Munger locker room. Access is restricted to football players and Penn personnel with authorization. A Penn athlete who is not on the football team cannot enter the locker room. On Feb. 17, the snow storm forced Penn to close the university and cancel all classes. Although the university was open on Feb. 18, non-essential personnel were not required to come to work. Bagnoli pointed to this "lack of traffic" around the university and locker room as one possible factor that allowed the theft to occur. In addition to decreased personnel, the dead-bolt lock outside of the Munger Locker Room was left open. "They didn't lock the door to save themselves from pressing the numbers [on the keypad]," Bagnoli said. He also mentioned that public high schools were closed on Feb. 18. The Penn Police Report noted that the stolen property was taken from unsecured lockers. The football players use the Munger Locker Room four times per week during the offseason to store their belongings while working out in the Munger Weight Room. But it is not uncommon for the players not to use the locks that are attached to the Munger lockers. According to a non-police source, the locks can easily be undone and the football players felt that the security operations at Munger Locker Room were sufficient. Approximately four wallets have been recovered since the incident, at least one with cash and credit cards removed, according to a non-police source. Usually the last player to enter the locker room for a Tuesday workout arrives around 4:15 p.m., and the first player leaves by about 4:50 p.m, according to the non-police source. There is usually someone in the locker room at other times, however, and it is always locked. The thief apparently had about 30 minutes at maximum to go through the lockers. Penn Police are currently conducting an investigation but no arrests have been made.

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