Four Miami-Dade County Parks and Recreation workers were arrested Wednesday for theft after pocketing park entrance fees on multiple occasions, police said Wednesday.
In February, parks and recreation management noticed a decrease in revenue at Amelia Earhart Park, police said.
Police investigated and found that four workers were stealing some of the money from the park admission fees.
“I commend our Police Department for their efforts in this matter, as well as our Parks and Recreation staff for being vigilant and bringing these acts to the attention of law enforcement as soon as they realized that something was amiss," Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez said in a statement.
Jamal Sheffield, 26, was supposed to collect a $6 entrance fee per car. However, he was observed pocketing some of the money on 13 occasions, police said. Police said he withheld about $1,686 from the county. Charles Simmons, 26, withheld about $1,320 from the county and was also arrested for grand theft, police said. Manuel Valdes, 22, and Camilo Felipe, 20, were both arrested for theft of $50.
Sheffield and Simmons were both being held in jail on $5,000 bond, according to online jail records. It was not immediately known if they had attorneys.
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"My administration has a zero tolerance policy for public corruption, and I assure our residents that we will continue to find and punish those who attempt to steal from the very public that they are meant to serve,” Gimenez said.
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