CHICAGO (STMW) — After they were refused service at the Trump Towers 16th floor bar over the weekend, two suburban men allegedly turned on a water valve in a stairway in the ritzy hotel, causing $700,000 in water damage, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.
Two elevators and some marble flooring were damaged as a result of Carl Koenemann and Benjamin Nitch’s actions, Assistant State’s Attorney Erin Antonietti said at their bond hearing Tuesday.
The men and another person had gone to the hotel’s bar where they were served one drink, Antonietti said.
Afterward, they were denied additional drinks because they appeared intoxicated, Antonietti said.
Koenemann and Nitch, both 25, were then seen going into the fire exit stairwell, the prosecutor said.
The men then allegedly turned on a water valve on the sixth floor that shoots 250 gallons of water out a minute.
As the water gushed for ten minutes before engineers could shut the valve off, the men walked down the stairwell and out of the hotel, Antonietti said.
The pair was arrested Sunday night.
Koenemann, of Des Plaines, allegedly told police that “Ben did it.”
And Nitch, of Barrington, allegedly told police his friend was culpable.
Nitch told police he may have slipped in his drunken state and grabbed onto the valve to gain balance, Antonietti said.
He later admitted he yanked open the valve because he was angry for not being served at the bar, Antonietti said.
Koenemann, who Chicago Police say works in the corporate offices of Walgreens, and Nitch were released following a bond hearing Tuesday but must remain on electronic monitoring while they await trial.
Both were charged with criminal damage to property. Neither man could be reached for comment later Tuesday.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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