Boston Herald
Tuesday, February 7, 2006

Thief runs off with marathon money for domestic violence shelter

By Kristin Erekson

Mara Lounsbury’s night at Lucky’s Lounge turned out to be not so lucky, after a swift swindler stole her purse stuffed with nearly $500 in donations.

The 27-year-old middle school teacher from Cambridge rented out a private room Saturday night at the South Boston joint and launched a fund-raiser for her $2,500 entrance fee for the Boston Marathon this April.

“The night started out great,” said Lounsbury. “My friends and I were there dancing and at about 1:30 (a.m.) we put our bags down for a minute. But when we returned, we noticed (my bag) wasn’t there.”

The proceeds were for Lounsbury’s team, Casa Myrna Vazquez Inc., a Boston-based domestic violence shelter participating in the race for the first time.

After scouring the night club until closing time, Lounsbury’s friend nixed the idea of calling the cops because she said “they wouldn’t be able to help.”

Lucky’s staff, which coorperated in the search, feels lousy about the case of the missing money.

“We do a lot of fund raising, and this has never happened before,” said Bill Costa, general manager at Lucky’s. “(Mara and her friends) were really nice girls.”

But Lounsbury is taking the brunt of the blame for the lost funds, which need to be turned in by March 1 if she is to receive a number for the marathon.

“I just feel like it is all my fault,” said Lounsbury. “I shouldn’t have left my bag for a second. People made an effort to help me out. My friends have already donated, and I am not going to ask them again.”