Miami-Dade

Miami-Dade Parking Employee Stole Thousands in Fees: Police

A Miami-Dade parking employee stole thousands of dollars from the county by pocketing payments from monthly parkers, authorities said Thursday.

Jose Felipe Valladares, 24, is charged with third-degree grand theft following his arrest Wednesday, police said.

Valladares was released on bond Thursday. It was unknown if he has an attorney.

According to an arrest report, Valladares had been hired as a parking attendant in November 2012 and began working as an account clerk in August 2014.

One of the monthly parkers tipped off police that Valladares and another account clerk had thousands of dollars in cash and checks in their desks, and detectives began an investigation in January.

Valladares confessed that he had taken between $4,000 and $5,000 from the parking payments since he started working as an account clerk, the report said.

When detectives searched Valladares' home, they found parking receipts worth $6,088.38, the report said. Valladares had already spent $4,797.40, the report said.

An audit of payments and deposits associated with monthly parkers is underway, police said.

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