Police: Long Island Macy's Loss Prevention Employee Steals $69,000 In Perfume
MANHASSET, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Police said a trusted security guard in charge of theft prevention at a Long Island Macy's used his position to steal.
As CBS2's Jennifer McLogan reported, Juan Adriano Infante, 21 allegedly got away with $69,000 worth of Chanel perfume.
The Morrow family, who are loyal customers at Macy's of Manhasset, were disappointed to learn of the heist of products from Chanel – their favorite fragrance.
"He was security and he was stealing?" Ms. Morrow said.
Police and prosecutors said Infante, the loss prevention associate for Macy's, entered the stockroom where the high-end perfume is kept in storage. Police alleged that Infante carried box after box out of a side exit – making off with 1,000 expensive bottles of perfume.
It happened after he mysteriously disabled the alarm, police said.
"He would actually call the fire alarm company; have them disengage the fire alarm. At that point, he would walk out of the store – the side exit; put these fragrances in his car," said Nassau County police Detective Lt. Richard Lebrun.
The thefts took place over a period of three days from the store on Northern Boulevard just down the block from the Nassau County Sixth Police Precinct station.
"I think that they should make sure the people they hire don't do things like that in the future," said shopper Jesse Smith.
"We have to go back to our original value system, that material things are just not what it's all about," said shopper Phyllis Carballo.
Infante was arrested at his home on Monday and charged with grand larceny, police said. But the perfume has not been recovered.
"My reaction is, what is he doing with all that perfume?" one woman said.
Police are also investigating possible accomplices. Stolen perfume can be fenced for 50 cents to the dollar.
Infante had been described as a trusted employee.
"Good luck trying to find another job," a woman said outside the store.
At his arraignment, Infante told a judge it was all a misunderstanding; that he was merely following orders from the fragrance manager to move the boxes of Chanel out of the cosmetics stockroom.
