Charlestown man, stepson charged with movie-worthy scheme to rob the downtown restaurant where dad worked

A pair of men from Charlestown were arraigned Friday on charges they concocted a bogus armed-robbery story to make off with cash from Cava, a Mediterranean restaurant at 125 Summer St. downtown, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

Both Scott Douglas, 37, and his stepson, Nickolas Lao, 19, were charged with larceny over $1,200 and conspiracy. Douglas was also charged with false reporting of a crime because of what he told police who arrived at the restaurant to investigate an armed-robbery call around 10:30 p.m. on Dec. 29:

Officers met with a store employee, later identified as Douglas, who reported he had been robbed at gunpoint while closing the restaurant for the night.
Douglas initially stated he felt a hard metal object being pressed against the back of his head and noticed a black AR-15 style rifle being held by an unknown male.

Douglas stated the man led him to the safe located in the back of the store. Douglas gave the man all the cash in the drawers, a black deposit bag full of cash, and several rolls of coins from the safe, totaling approximately $1,800. Douglas then said the man ordered him to face away while he ran out of the store.

What Douglas failed to take into account, however, is that downtown is laced with surveillance cameras, and officers who reviewed footage from them "observed a man with a completely different description as that provided by Douglas enter the restaurant as Douglas simultaneously opens the door," the DA's office reports.

At 10:31 p.m. the man is observed leaving the restaurant and fleeing toward the MBTA Chinatown Station at Washington and Boylston streets. Based on video footage, the suspect was the only other person inside the restaurant or around the immediate area at the time of the robbery.

Douglas's story further fell apart during a followup interview with detectives:

Meeting with officers several days after the purported robbery, Douglas provided statements inconsistent with his initial statement and video footage from inside the restaurant.

Still images of the unknown male were distributed to officers in the area. Officers identified the man as Nickolas Lao. Investigators found that both Lao and Douglas are listed at the same address in Charlestown. Further investigation revealed that Lao is the son of Douglas’ ex-wife, with whom Douglas still resides.

The DA's office says both men were ordered held after they were unable to make bail: $10,000 for Douglass and $5,000 for Lao.

This is the second alleged fake heist concocted by relatives in Boston in recent months. In September, a teller at a West Roxbury Credit Union allegedly worked with his brother to concoct a fake holdup - and got arrested at their home that night, and now face federal charges.

In a statement, DA Kevin Hayden expressed disdain for people from a one-square-mile neighborhood called Charlestown - and anywhere else - that would pull a stunt like thisL

We too often see employees who think they can fool police and their employers for their own illicit gain but end up fooling only themselves. This concocted incident instilled fear in our community and used up police time and resources that could have been dedicated elsewhere.

Innocent, etc.