Thieves take $4,000 during O'Neill Mardi Gras party
By JASON McFARLEY
News Editor
Thieves stole more than $4,000 from O'Neill Hall this weekend during the dorm's annual Mardi Gras celebration, hall officials said.
At a hall-wide meeting Sunday, O'Neill rector Father John Herman told students that the money was likely stolen Saturday night from the first-floor hall government office. The money came from ticket sales to Mardi Gras, the hall's signature event.
Herman, who was in Detroit over the weekend, discovered the funds missing Sunday morning. He did not file a report with Notre Dame Security/Police.
He left a voice mail message with hall residents early Monday morning, offering a $500 reward for information leading to the money's return.
Herman told The Observer he believed the culprit lives in the hall. He said someone lifted keys from one of the hall president's rooms and used them to unlock the hall government office. The keys remained missing late Sunday.
No report has been filed yet with NDSP in hope that the money would be turned over willingly by whomever took it, Herman said.
Herman expected to contact NDSP this morning if the money wasn't recovered. He said Mardi Gras would be cancelled in the future if the robbery went unsolved.
The event typically draws a large turnout of students who travel freely between separate parties being held in rooms throughout the hall. Traditionally, men who live in the hall were permitted to invite two women to the festivities, which also include a parade around campus to pick up the men's dates.
All News Stories for Monday, February 11, 2002
