FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A cook working at the Broward County Convention Center helped a co-worker steal more than $2,000 worth of steaks, deputies said. He’s now facing a felony charge.
A Broward Sheriff’s Office arrest report states that CCTV footage from Aug. 2 showed Rahul Pandey, 26, of Fort Lauderdale, along with a co-worker identified as a co-defendant, Deanza Hodge, walking out of the convention center with “two white bags contain(ing) New York strip steaks and beef tenderloins” worth $2,083.
The two, who work for an outside company managing the convention center, then loaded the steaks into Hodge’s vehicle, authorities said.
Deputies said a kitchen chef had inventoried the beef the day before the crime and then again on Thursday, noticing the steaks had vanished.
“During a post-Miranda interview, (Pandey) admitted that he knew the bag contained food belonging to his employer, although he claimed he did not know the specific type of food inside,” the report states, in part. “(He) further admitted that he knew removing the bag for Hodge was wrong.”
Pandey was arrested on Monday and is facing a grand theft charge. Hodge did not appear in county court or jail records as of Tuesday.
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