NY Times Crossword
May 12, 2011
Patrick John Duggan

The four phrases below, in order, are victims of the same crime. Can you determine what it is?

CASUAL FRAY
GLOCK SPIEL
SICK AND RED
PENAL BOXES

HINTS:
A pair of letters, different for each clue, will change each clue into a familiar word or phrase.

Answer:

The letter pairs ID, EN, TI, TY can be inserted somewhere into each clue:

CASUAL FRIDAY
GLOCKENSPIEL 
SICK AND TIRED
PENALTY BOXES 

The crime is IDENTITY THEFT.