New Jersey gym owner charged with breaking into clients' cars, stealing from them as they worked out

ByEyewitness News WABC logo
Thursday, February 16, 2023
NJ gym owner charged with stealing from clients as they worked out
Gregory Baiunco owns HitZone Gym in Midland Park and is under arrest in New Jersey, accused of stealing from clients during workouts.

MIDLAND PARK, New Jersey (WABC) -- A gym owner was arrested after he was caught on camera by a client rummaging through his car and allegedly stealing money.

"I put my keys a certain way so that I knew if they were touched when I came back from my run that something was off. Came back and sure enough, my keys were flipped a different direction. I went in my car, counted my money, and I was missing $50," victim AJ Tenhoeve said.

The man in the video has been identified as Gregory Baiunco who owns a boutique gym called the Hit Zone on Central Ave. in Midland Park.

"So about two months ago, I just randomly noticed I was missing $40 one day, $60 another day. I didn't really pick up on it until about three weeks ago," Tenhoeve said.

Tenhoeve then talked to friends who are cops who encouraged him to put up cameras in his vehicle and it didn't take long for his suspicions to become a reality.

"I pulled up the camera footage on my GoPro and of course you see the owner of the gym opens my car door. You can't see him in that frame, but about 10 seconds later he comes back into frame, opens the door again, puts the wallet back, and the rest is history," Tenhoeve said.

Baiunco has been in the Midland Park community for a long time and there have been no past reports from the gym about missing money, but cops expect there are more victims who will come forward.

"In this case, just from the victims that came in so far, the clients of his, there was over $1,000 in cash. In some points it was $50-60 and some times it was over $700," Midland Park Police Chief Michael Powderley said.

Baiunco is charged with four counts of theft and four counts of burglary. He's due back in court on February 24.

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