Pete
A 50-year-old man was just arrested for the twentieth time for faking a heart attack at a restaurant to avoid paying the bill. He’s been doing this for about a year in Spain, where he lives.
According to Spanish newspaper El Pais, Aidas J. “has been arrested 20 times for the same reason since the end of 2022 and is known as the gastrojeta.” He was most recently arrested this week for skipping out on a bill for a seafood paella and two drinks.
He enjoys whiskey and expensive entrees, and basically, when the bill comes, he keels over until he’s escorted away by medics.
“He lay down on the ground, acted as if his chest hurt and began to shake,” one restaurant told the Spanish publication.
He likes to begin his meals with a Russian salad, and according to 20minutos, he’s performed at all times of day: “lunch and dinner and even at tapas.”
But it seems like he’s gotten lazy. At the time of his most recent arrest, he initially just tried to walk away. When a restaurant employee told him he couldn’t leave without paying, he said he was just going to his hotel room to get money. When that didn’t work, 20minutos reports “the Lithuanian threw himself on the ground very close to the street door and ostensibly pretended to be unwell,” but the restaurant manager didn’t fall for it and called the police.
He brings the appearance of a wealthy European tourist who can easily afford to eat, so nothing is ever suspected.
While he’s been fined for dining and ditching in the past, he apparently hasn’t paid those bills either.
A number of police officers interviewed by various outlets indicated that the suspect is very polite and usually has a smile on his face, probably because he got to eat for free.
