A man from Argentina and his two cousins arrived at their hotel in Palm Beach on May 31. They were excited to get settled and go shopping for food.
But when the man returned to his room a few hours later, he found that $5,800 in cash was missing from his brown leather bag. The police believe the money was taken by a hotel employee who had welcomed them at the front desk.
The police report says that this employee, a 31-year-old woman from West Palm Beach, took the money within an hour after the man left for shopping.
The man and his cousins had put their luggage in Room 309 and then went to Walmart. Hotel surveillance videos confirmed that they arrived around 1:50 p.m. and left about 30 minutes later.
At about 3 p.m., the employee was seen on video taking a master key for one of the rooms. The hotel manager told police that after her shift ended at 3 p.m., she wasn’t allowed to take any keys or enter guest rooms.
She was seen walking towards the hotel exit, but then changed direction and got into an elevator. She looked at a piece of paper in her pocket, then went to a floor that wasn’t under video surveillance.
Later, she was seen in a stairwell leading to the pool deck, then walking to the parking lot, getting into her car, and driving away.
On July 16, a detective met with the employee at a probation office. She admitted to taking the master key on May 31 and going into the guest’s room. She claimed she took only about $2,000, not $5,800, and said she could pay it back.
She spent the money on her daughter’s dance recital and a doctor’s appointment. She described the money as old-fashioned green-tint $100 bills.
The woman was arrested on July 16 and charged with burglary and theft. She was released on July 23 on a $30,000 bond.