Security Meltdown at San Diego Club

A masked thief slipped into a San Diego strip club and walked out with $25,300 in one-dollar bills, and the owner says the code used to reach the safe points to an inside job.

Quick Take

Security video shows the intruder entering Exposé in Kearny Mesa around 5 a.m. and heading straight for the safe area.
Owner Dino Palmiotto says the thief used an alarm code tied to a former manager who had been fired.
Palmiotto says every worker with safe access has a unique code tied to their name.
The San Diego Police Department says an investigation is underway, but it has not released more details.

Security Footage Raises Insider Questions

Dino Palmiotto, who owns Exposé in Kearny Mesa, released footage that appears to show a masked man climbing the fence and breaking in before sunrise. The owner says the suspect moved through the club with purpose and seemed to know where the cash was kept. That detail matters because the club holds large amounts of one-dollar bills, which are easy to count but hard to secure without tight controls.

Palmiotto says the thief used an alarm code linked to a former manager who had already been terminated. He also says each staff member with safe access has a code tied to that person’s name. For readers who are tired of weak security and sloppy oversight, that combination makes the case look less like a random smash-and-grab and more like a breakdown inside the business itself.

Why The Owner Calls It An Inside Job

The owner’s claim rests on more than the amount stolen. He says the burglar took $25,300 in one-dollar bills and went right to the room with the safe. He also told reporters that the suspect may have been on a phone call during the break-in. None of that proves a conspiracy by itself, but it does explain why Palmiotto believes the thief had help or prior knowledge.

That suspicion fits a common risk in cash-heavy businesses: access control can fail when codes are shared, copied, or left in the wrong hands. Reports on employee theft note that workplace theft can involve cash, access misuse, and fraud, not just someone walking out with visible property. Industry guidance also says businesses should use background checks, internal audits, and tight authorization controls to limit insider crime.

What Is Confirmed So Far

What is confirmed is narrow but important. The theft happened in San Diego at Exposé. The loss was $25,300 in one-dollar bills. The owner says the suspect used a former manager’s alarm code, and police have opened an investigation. What is not confirmed publicly is whether the former manager passed along the code, whether another insider was involved, or whether investigators have ruled out other explanations.

Thief steals over $25K in one dollar bills at Kearny Mesa strip club https://t.co/8eMRJoQUur

— CBS 8 San Diego (@CBS8) July 1, 2026

The lack of public detail leaves one clear lesson for business owners: high-cash operations need stronger internal controls than trust alone. That is especially true in businesses that depend on safe access, employee codes, and late-night traffic. Until police release more, the owner’s inside-job theory remains an allegation, but it is an allegation built on specific facts, not just guesswork.