The steakhouse credit card scam that is in all the papers hits home hard. I know a few of the players, and I hear from others that I know some of the others. First on the list is Martha Rubiano, a second-tier pal in my first tier of friends. Martha and I have been poking each other on Facebook for years. I asked around and found out that everyone has been avoiding her. Unemployed or unfulfilled doesn't explain away the accusations. In the end, she was the gift horse that many looked into the mouth. Her too-good-to-be-true "deals" on luxury goods were indeed a must to avoid because, as it turned out, she seemed to be fencing goods bought on captured American Express cards.

She hasn't poked me in days, and I assume she is otherwise detained. I will hope that she gets out of this okay. I think there will be a lot of deals cut and she seems low on the totem pole. I adore Martha, and hope she comes through this. It goes to show you that you never know a person all that well.

Higher on that pole is Andrew Parker, a nice enough fellow until you get to know him. Peter Davis did a story for The Daily Beast on him last December, which proved to be a mere tip of the iceberg, considering the latest accusations. I totally recommend reading it. I'll add to Peter's story a few anecdotes gathered by some of Andrew’s "keep my name out of it" friends. I was told, "When he was a kid at Dwight (a prep school), he was a bit of a bully. Now barely 5 foot 6, that seems impossible, but back then he was large." I was told "He fell out of favor and was so disliked that he was lured to an apartment of a friend where he was confronted by about 20 students and beaten up by a couple of them while the others cheered. Everyone hated him. He was and arrogant bully, not morally sound."

When he hit the club scene, he had worked his way back into the good graces of some. He hung with a "high roller, celebrity crowd." He even threw a few parties. He had an "after hours club called Pacha, and his mom was somehow involved." After that foray, "He then started selling clothes at flea markets and on the street. Then mom bankrolled him in A.S. Parker, a very small closet of a store on Madison Avenue and 78th Street. Samantha Ronson deejayed at the store’s opening party." He had changed his name from Pollack to Parker," so he wouldn't seem so Jewish." He then "went crazy, not paying for anything, like stealing fruit from supermarkets and he was stealing customer credit cards using the money to pay for his lifestyle, completely lost his mind. Paying for hookers, strip clubs, and then he dated that porn star Heather Pink." I asked if he was paying for the bottles I would often see at his table. "No, he always knew how to get a free bottle, who would give him one. He would show up with a crew of girls and get the bottle for free. He was sort of an unpaid promoter." One of his friends wondered how he got out of jail so fast after the last arrests. “Maybe he was out for a reason." There's always a rat and according to those who know him well, he "fits the bill."

I always got along with Andrew. I'd always say hello. I even met his mom when he was doing that Pacha thing. I commented that he never tried to screw me as far as I could tell. "He figured he shouldn't shit where he eats, and clubs are where he lived." I said, "It seems he always shat where he ate according to his arrest record."

The so-called mastermind of the whole shebang is Damian Jacas, often known as DJ. People say I know him and I sort of do recognize his face from his Facebook photo. I was told that "he was someone I knew but never let into my clubs." Years later, he latched onto a fast crowd and in the bottle service era, people like Jacas and other jackasses become V.I.Ps with the swipe of a credit card. He seemed to have lots of those. I wonder if clubs have been touched by this scandal. Many say that "he can't be the brains behind this mess." Then again, they really didn't get away with it—28 of them are locked up. I bet that number grows. He was a bartender uptown or had a bar up there. I don't care enough to find out. Too many people's lives have been hurt by this. Among them is my old friend Eric Brahms, who was cuffed at the hospital while his wife was in labor. She got busted as well, but is nursing their newborn and therefore not in jail. Eric used to throw parties and until recently, was dabbling with some idea of doing a joint. He recently told a friend that he was "retired from the biz." He should get out today, and I'll give him a call. But what can be said. I'm sorry for your troubles?

This scam will have repercussions. Clubs are very aware they are targets for phony credit cards. Disputed charges are a time-consuming part of every night life. Waitrons take photo IDs and managers background check as much as possible, but scams are more common than you might think. Now every effort will be doubled. This crime is a violation of our comfort zone. I read that all the money spent on the cards will be refunded to the unsuspecting owners, in time. What can't be returned is the false sense of security we have when we give that smiling waiter or clerk our ID and credit card. Because of this crew, we all will be a little uneasy during this holiday shopping season. The cops and courts may quantify the crime in terms of dollars scammed, but the real loss is our trust.