Men accused of stealing nearly a million dollars worth of McArthur Dairy milk
MIAMI - Six men were moo-ved to jail after they were arrested and charged with stealing more than a million dollars worth of dairy products.
Detectives have also released new surveillance tape in this case.
"The message here is that if you do something like this, you are going to get caught," said Miami-Dade Police Detective Luis Sierra. Sierra told CBS Miami's Peter D'Oench, "A million dollars worth of dairy product is a significant amount and it was a very coordinated and strategic effort to take these products."
Sierra called this an unusual case.
According to police, Osleivy Rodriguez, 35, worked as a dispatcher for Island Dairy Distributors, and Eduardo Alvarez, 55; Yohanny Padron, 38; and Maikel Rodriguez, 46, worked as drivers.
It was Rodriguez's job to order a specific amount of MacArthur Dairy milk cartons for the drivers daily. However, reportedly ordered extra cartons for Alvarez, Padron, and Rodriguez's delivery routes.
Sierra said, "According to our investigators, one individual would overorder product and have one of the drivers take it to another party and give that excess product to him."
According to a witness, Alvarez and Rodriguez would deviate from their routes and meet with 50-year-old Ihosvany Lopez. The additional milk cartons would be loaded in his truck and then Alvarez and Rodriguez would continue on their routes, according to the arrest report.
Padron is accused of doing the same. According to the GPS on his delivery truck, it happened on multiple occasions, according to police.
After he was taken into custody, Padron reportedly confessed to stealing the extra cartons of milk during questioning. He said he sold each carton for $10 and made 1/3 from the proceeds and he split the money with Rodriguez, according to the arrest report.
The sixth man identified in the scam is 56-year-old Jose Fallayera.
According to police, at one point Island Dairy became suspicious after discovering irregularities in their deliveries and identified the men they thought were responsible. They conducted an investigation and then turned their findings over to the Miami-Dade police. Within hours of the initial report, police investigators were able to capture the transfer of stolen dairy products on video.
The surveillance tape shows one truck backing up to another and a man repeatedly moving milk crates from one truck to the other one.
Sierra said the Miami-Dade Police Organized Crime Bureau was in charge of the investigation. "Once our detectives received a tip," he said, "they conducted their surveillance."
All six men were then taken into custody last month. They've been charged with grand theft and organized scheme to defraud.
Since October 2021, the men are accused of stealing more than $925,000 worth of MacArthur Dairy milk and $350,000 worth of crates.
CBS News Miami also reached out to an attorney for the company but so far there has been no comment.