’Fess up, dumbbells
Shut gym holds pay over theft
Workers at a David Barton Gym allegedly stole a bunch of items that were likely bound for a landfill the night before their location shut down — but angry managers are withholding their final paychecks until someone comes clean, The Post has learned.
The crooks took dumbbells, Aveda products — and even yanked a poster off the wall — during the Dec. 20 heist at the Upper East Side branch of the former celeb favorite, cops said.
A day later, it was among the nationwide locations to close down.
Managers of the East 85th Street workout spot reported the thefts to police — and are holding final paychecks until someone ’fesses to what managers believe was an inside job, a source said.
“We are pleased to inform you that paychecks will be going out to David Barton Gym employees for the period through December 20, 2016, with the exception of those employed at the Uptown facility (85th and Madison). Those paychecks are being held until such time as the police have finished their investigation,” read a text message to workers.
“The break-in is believed to involve several Uptown employees. As soon as we determine who was responsible for the break-in, paychecks will be issued to all other employees of the Uptown facility.”
Representatives from the gym declined to comment.
A former employee told The Post that management tried to keep the December closure on the downlow to avoid anyone taking revenge against the gym.
“They were being quiet about it and I just finally had to go to my boss and ask the question, like, what’s really going on? I said . . . ‘Are we closing?’ And he said to me it didn’t look good,” the worker said.
Meanwhile, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Wednesday he is suing the gym’s parent company, Club Ventures Investments LLC, on behalf of 5,000 members who paid up to $15,000 in training packages that they’ll never be able to use.
Additionally, Schneiderman’s office said they’re aware employees haven’t been paid and will be monitoring the situation.