Employee Charged with Embezzlement

[Party Rocker]

Yes parking is not an actual product to be taken away, but the idea is that he stole "potential profit". They potentially could have made thousands of dollars, but they didn't because of his actions.

Yes the park charges too much for parking, but in the end it is still money lost that they could have potentially made if all those people paid.

It's not about the actual parking spaces, it is about the money that should have been collected by the cashier.

 

[Shane]

I still stand by the park lost very very little money.

 

[Thomas]

If only people knew they could lie about being crippled to get free better parking.

 

[Shane]

Or lie about being cripple to get free Quick Queue

 

[Nicole]

The up charge for Preferred Parking is for the convenience, not for the physical space. The reasonable cost is whatever the market will bear. Maybe living in NoVa my perspective is different than a lot of people, but I paid $13 dollars yesterday to park close to my meeting for approximately 3 hours. I could have walked (in a suit and heels) a few blocks and saved money, but it was not worth it to me. The same thing applies to the park. Even without my pass, the park has not set the price too high for me to pay for Preferred Parking.

I have no idea why this kid gave away the hang tags, but SOUNDS like some like of self-righteous and arrogant civil disobedience from someone who disapproves of the parking rates. If that is the case, pursuing criminal charges has only helped his cause. Look at us: would we be debating the market value of a parking space, if his case hadn't made the news?

 

[Ghost of Pretzel Kaiser]

Look at us: would we be debating the market value of a parking space, if his case hadn't made the news?

I have little doubt in my mind this would come up eventually here given how often inane topics are brought up here. It was only a matter of time.

I honestly see this as the park pinching pennies and setting an example to other employees.

 

[BBW]

Interesting points on all sides, so a good thread to read. I'm kind of sympathetic to both him and the park. I can easily believe he was doing it just to give some surprise magic, as PrArlenasDad said. And if that appeared to be his motivation, given factors like [if] he didn't pocket any money, [if] he is one of those extroverted types that really interacts with the guests, then I would be inclined to just give him a warning. But then that is apparently just what the park did -- they didn't immediately jump to terminating his employment. So I guess for me it would just be a matter of degree as to the type and number of warnings he received, etc. I could see a verbal, then a formal written, etc. -- but at some point the employer would have to get tough or the other employees would want to do it, too.

But I agree the actual value of what was lost to the park is probably minimal, and more in line with lower estimates mentioned on this thread -- esp since the park often officially "gives" away the premium spaces.

Also, I tend to question the employee's motives more after he kept doing it despite warnings. Then he starts to sound insubordinate whatever his original intentions were. So, if you don't see it as theft, he was still defying his supervisors' instructions, and that's not being a good employee, either.

 

[MIKEYT67]

Or lie about being cripple to get free Quick Queue

Handicapped do not get free quick queue.We wait just like everyone else just not in the line
AS far as lying to get upgraded parking you have to have a handicapped placard

 

[Malsdad]

I've witnessed this many times as well. Are they going to start locking up the people who direct traffic?

This brings me to my parking thread!! I would pay for preferred as they waved others along with me who didn't pay. Grrr.

 

[Ghost of Pretzel Kaiser]

Handicapped do not get free quick queue.We wait just like everyone else just not in the line
AS far as lying to get upgraded parking you have to have a handicapped placard

While this is getting off topic (I supposed there's going to be a thread about RAP now *sigh*), This.

Unless the line is really short, most of the time guests with disabilities have to wait roughly the same time as guests in line. So if there's a 30 minute wait, guests with disabilities have to wait that long as well.

 

[Party Rocker]

My final say is that he was given a warning. They did not immediately charge him or terminate him. He was told hey you need to stop doing this. And from my understanding of how the park operates when it comes to their warnings and degrees of warnings, he was given one at the minimum.

With that said, when you are told to stop. You stop or face the consequences. I have known some of this special magic that other posters mentioned, but you don't do it constantly. When you do it every time it loses the magic feel and becomes too frequent. For the amount he gave away it was too much. Maybe three or four spots maximum is not a problem over the course of three days, but to give away over a hundred is just too much.

Malsdad, as far as waving people by, that is a leadership decision to save fuel so they don't have to send trams out to the lots if they don't have to or restrict it as little as possible to save fuel. In this situation is was about a team member not taking money. Money is of much more concern and in this case, the park could have potentially gained money but they didn't. They saw it as a loss of profit. Once you pass that toll booth you already paid what you pay for exactly can differentiate.

 

[Franco]

While this is getting off topic (I supposed there's going to be a thread about RAP now *sigh*), This.

Unless the line is really short, most of the time guests with disabilities have to wait roughly the same time as guests in line. So if there's a 30 minute wait, guests with disabilities have to wait that long as well.

I can cover it over in my Guest thread. It has to do somewhat with what I'm writing about in the next installment anyway, and apparently there's an interest for it.

That is a very good summation, though. RAP is very misunderstood.

Back on topic, I would be very frustrated as a guest to know that I paid the preferred upcharge, but Robin Hood was working a different toll booth and letting over a hundred other cars in for free.

 

[lazerdoc]

I have to question what they said about his motives, or lack thereof. Supposedly, he didn't know the people he gave them to so he just randomly gave away a Preferred tag? Maybe it's his first attempt at philanthropy, but that's a bit hard to understand.

Is it possible that tried to "work the system" for some easy cash? Let's say I am the attendant. A guest pays cash for the upgrade from regular parking to preferred, I scan their pass, but ring it up as a regular space. Then I hand the guest hanging tag for preferred. Now the drawer is $10 over. When I think no one is looking I put the $10 in my pocket.

It might seem too risky to anyone with common sense, but when you put cash in front of some people they can't resist. I work for a large financial institution and we have had tellers get caught trying just about anything you can imagine. And it's not unusual to read about a WalMart associate getting fired/arrested for something similar.

 

[Malsdad]

I started to think, how many other BG employees have been arrested?

I found two articles that reference BG Tampa. :dodgy: Interesting.....

-- ARTICLE 1
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY -- A Busch Gardens employee has been arrested and charged with stealing almost $25,000 as a cashier.

According to the Tampa Police Department, Stephanie Jones Jolly was arrested Sunday after police set up a sting with park security.

Officials said Jolly made fraudulent transactions, ringing up transactions, voiding them and then keeping the cash.

Authorities said she stole more than $600 in the past month and almost $25,000 since she started working at the park in 2008.

Jolly, who was charged with third-degree grand theft, petty theft and organized fraud, was released from jail after she posted a $9,750 bail.

-- ARTICLE 2

Tampa, Florida - Roller coasters at Busch Gardens are known for their twists and turns, but in a strange twist, sheriff's investigators say a coaster mechanic used his job at the park to turn a buck.

Richard MacBay was arrested and charged with dealing in stolen property. Detectives say he sold roller coaster brake pads -- almost 100 pounds worth and made out of brass -- to a recycling business in Gibsonton.

Patriot Metals is a busy place and detectives are sometimes there looking through records or for people bringing in suspicious loads. And investigators say that's exactly what happened last Friday when MacBay came in with nearly 100 pounds of brass plates.

"They noticed some unique items that were being placed in the bin to be sold,"says Corporal Steve Billor of the Hillsborough Sheriff's Office.

While the coaster brake pads are certainly unusual, metal thefts are not. Air conditioner coils are a popular target for thieves and with the price of copper now high, Billor says they're seeing a spike in the crime.

That's one reason District IV in Ruskin created a special summer detail to concentrate on metal thefts. In the past six weeks, deputies have made 38 arrests.

"We're going both ways... either looking for guys on site as they're disposing of it (stolen metal) and we're also doing surveillances on known suspects or locations where they might be stealing," says Billor.

So what does this crime mean for roller coaster riders at Busch Gardens? In a written statement Busch Gardens states, "None of the parts stolen were in use on any active ride, and guest safety was at no time compromised."