An Italian tourist got to add a night in jail to his Big Apple itinerary after he racked up a $208 bill at Smith and Wollensky without having a wallet to pay the bill, The New York Post reported.
Graziano Graziussi, 43, said he begged workers to let him leave an iPhone as collateral while he got money from the apartment where he was staying — but they instead called cops, who were equally unsympathetic.
"I found it completely unreasonable to call the police when I was coming up with possible solutions," he told The Post. "I wasn't going to run away. I was there, I had just forgotten my wallet."
Cops asked Graziussi if he could have someone deliver wallet or recite his credit-card number for the restaurant to run — but he could not and was taken into custody, law enforcement sources said.
A judge released Graziussi the next morning, on the promise he'd pay up.
"I don't think they should have arrested me in the first place," the busted steak lover said. "I wanted to pay the check."
A rep for Smith & Wollensky's management company declined comment.
A manager and bartender at the restaurant last night said it's standard practice to call cops when a customer can't pay.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
