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Bob Sambol of Bob’s Steak & Chop House Indicted for Theft

Posted on March 27th, 2009 10:05am by Nancy Nichols
Filed under Restaurant News

The DMN reports that Bob Sambol of Bob’s Steak & Chop House was indicted yesterday for theft. Lee Thompson, Jr., a former customer, invested $300,000 in Bob’s and claims Bob hasn’t lived up to promises of expanding the restaurant and adding a wine bar. The indictment will trigger a warrant for Sambol’s arrest. The DMN report says Sambol could face life in prison if convicted.

I just spoke with Sambol. “This whole this has been blown out of proportion,” he said. “This is a business deal gone bad. The guy got angry and he wants his money and I don’t have the money to pay it back. I am not going to prison.”

Asked about the warrant, Sambol says, “I am turning myself in in an hour and I will be back at work as usual tonight.”

UPDATE: Bob Sambol is the owner of the Lemmon Ave. restaurant. He has no ties to the other Bob’s Steak & Chop House locations. I just spoke to Steve Hartnett, owner of the Grapevine location. “We are clean as a whistle and debt free here in Grapevine,” he says. “We pay our bills as soon as they come in.” The Plano location is owned by Bill Lennox who is partnered with Omni Hotels in the deal for the Bob’s in Fort Worth and any future Bob’s locations.

UPDATE: Lee Thompson’s attorney Chris Lewis of Crain Lewis, L.L.P.issued the following statement:

Mr. Thompson is saddened by the indictment of Bob Sambol. Mr. Thompson and Mr. Sambol were friends for many years. Mr. Sambol traded on this friendship and created the false pretense of a business deal to take $300,000 from Mr. Thompson. Even after the ruse was discovered and Mr. Sambol refused to return the money, Mr. Thompson tried to help his friend. Upon learning of Mr. Sambol’s numerous debts and suspected gambling problems, Mr. Thompson arranged for multiple professionals to assist Mr. Sambol with his financial situation, at no cost to Mr. Sambol. Mr. Sambol refused this help. After more than a year of Mr. Sambol’s excuses and false promises, the District Attorney’s Office chose to refer this case to a Dallas County Grand Jury. Despite Mr. Sambol’s numerous debts and obligations, he continues to cling to an extravagant lifestyle including membership at the exclusive Dallas National Golf Club.

22 Comments to “Bob Sambol of Bob’s Steak & Chop House Indicted for Theft”

Chris @ March 27th, 2009 at 10:41 am

sooo… who owns the rights to the restaurant’s name and image?
fresser @ March 27th, 2009 at 10:57 am

Bob has long been rumored to have a couple of very expensive vices.
Pot Net @ March 27th, 2009 at 10:58 am

Have you spoken with Thompson or his attorney?
Daniel @ March 27th, 2009 at 11:04 am

Bill Lenox owns the franchise rights.
TLS @ March 27th, 2009 at 11:05 am

The guy wants his money and Bob doesn’t have it anymore to pay back. Sounds like theft to me.
Scagnetti @ March 27th, 2009 at 11:07 am

Norm Hitzges, by his own admission is a looooooong time sports gambler. Norm Hitzges, a big, big buddy of Bob Sambol, gushes when he does radio spots for the restaurant.

You do the math.
Nancy Nichols @ March 27th, 2009 at 11:28 am

Pot Net: I’ve had e-mail exchange with Thompson and have his attorney’s number. Developing.
JS @ March 27th, 2009 at 11:29 am

Scagnetti, that’s a bit of a reach there. Just because Norm and Bob know each other, how do you draw the conclusion that Bob bets on sports? Maybe you haven’t noticed, but Norm “gushes” (and sounds like a fool) on every ad that he does whether it’s steaks, Starpower, foundation repair, vehicles, etc.
Neal @ March 27th, 2009 at 11:34 am

Has Thompson already sued Bob in civil court? Usually the first step for someone in Thompson’s position is to file a lawsuit for breach of contract, breach of a partnership agreement or even fraud or conversion. It’s hard to get a prosecutor to take up the case as a criminal matter unless there is some pretty clear evidence of outright theft or fraud. Apparently that’s what happened here, although I suppose it’s possible Thompson is connected enough with the DA’s office to convince them to move forward with an indictment when they wouldn’t normally do so. That said, my guess is that the underlying facts must be pretty bad. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be an indictment.

And yes, he’s innocent until proven guilty, but let’s parse Bob’s statement to Nancy:

1. “This whole this has been blown out of proportion” – I am sure he thinks so, but this isn’t a denial.

2. “This is a business deal gone bad.” – the District Attorney and grand jury seem to think it’s more than that. Yes, a DA can get a grand jury to indict anyone for anything, but run-of-the-mill “business deals gone bad” usually are resolved in civil court, not a criminal court.

3. “The guy got angry and he wants his money and I don’t have the money to pay it back.” – This is at least an admission that he applied the funds to something other than the expansion. This only leads to the question of what happened to the money if it wasn’t spent on the expansion as (allegedly) promised. Bob’s defense attorney must be having a cow this morning.

4. “I am not going to prison.” – Bob’s investors, employees and loyal patrons probably would rather hear him say “I am completely innocent of these charges.”

Also, how will the indictment and any subsequent conviction affect the restaurant’s liquor license?
Honcho @ March 27th, 2009 at 11:43 am

Scagnetti: Let’s see if I have this right:
The ****crows at dawn; at dawn the sun comes up; therefore, the crowing of the ****makes the sun rise! Makes sense to me…
Scagnetti @ March 27th, 2009 at 1:36 pm

JS and Honcho: Refer to fresser’s post:

“Bob has long been rumored to have a couple of very expensive vices.”

He knows what I know.

Do you think people just make this stuff up?
csyd @ March 27th, 2009 at 2:07 pm

Bob has long been rumored to steal all the big-ass carrots at Tom Thumb.
csyd @ March 27th, 2009 at 2:13 pm

Bob has a gambling problem… He bet Norm that he could eat 10 carrots one night and Norm got all drunk again and he ate 15.
L @ March 27th, 2009 at 3:06 pm

Life in prison over $300,000? Seems kind of harsh.
microdermer @ March 27th, 2009 at 3:32 pm

^DMN’s hyperbole. That’s just the maximum sentence for a conviction involving that amount of money. I doubt he’d get more than two-to-five years in convicted.
Pot Net @ March 27th, 2009 at 3:37 pm

Theft > $200K = first degree felony. Maximum punishment = life. Minimum punishment = 5 years.
mad off @ March 27th, 2009 at 5:54 pm

Perhaps he invested it with Bernie Madoff or deposited it in a UBS account.
jane @ March 27th, 2009 at 7:33 pm

I am assuming that since Norm gushes about said ‘indicted’ that Norm has never lent money to the alleged thief? Where am I when some guy is out there spreading 300K around? Oh, that’s right, I am leading an honest life where my only vice is leaving comments on blogs. Damn honesty.
Chris @ March 28th, 2009 at 8:35 am

Update #3, according to the DMN article, Bob has no plans to turn himself in.
Rusty @ March 28th, 2009 at 11:09 am

Bob Sambol has been taking great care of Dallas diners for many, many years, and enjoys a great reputation among his peers. Even though his actions look sketchy, let’s not be too quick to pile on.
Honcho @ March 29th, 2009 at 10:28 am

Scagnetti: I wasn’t trying to comment on what you or anyone else “knows.” I was pointing out the absurdity of your “logic.” And, yes, I do think that people make things up all the time. I have no idea, however, if this is one of those times.
r @ March 31st, 2009 at 2:53 pm

I just hope Bob held on to some of that money, I’m sure there are a few lawyers out there that could use a new wine cellar.