Colepaugh enthusiastically pursued numerous casual sexual affairs with women, tipped extravagantly, and drank heavily. He was sometimes absent for many hours at a time, using hotels such as the Empire and Essex for his sexual liaisons. Gimpel passed the time reading newspapers, going to the movies to watch newsreels, and dining out at some of New York City's finer steak houses. On December 21, Colepaugh permanently deserted Gimpel, making off with US$48,000 ($ today) of their currency, and taking a room at the Hotel St. Moritz to continue his spree of nightclubbing and womanizing.