Lauderdale restaurant chef suspected of theft

Two store clerks helped, police say

Two clerks at a food wholesaler didn’t charge a chef for some of the pricier items in his shopping cart and allowed him to leave without paying for meats and other goods in transactions that cost the business thousands of dollars, Fort Lauderdale police say.

The clerks allegedly received tips of cash, a promise of compensation or free meals at Mario Catalina Restaurant at 1611 N. Federal Highway, where Mario Reyes Flores is chef and co-owner, an arrest report said. The arrangement, police said, went on from May 17, 2015, through Oct. 25, 2016, and cost Gordon Food Services about $16,229, according to court documents.

Fort Lauderdale police arrested Flores, 55, on May 31 on suspicion of committing grand theft less than $20,000.

He was released from jail the next day on a $1,000 bond and has pleaded not guilty.

“It’s a complete misunderstanding,” Flores’ attorney Richard Merlino said. “In no way, shape or form has the state attorney’s office or Fort Lauderdale police reached out to my client or his business partner.”

An arrest report says Flores would place juices or bags of salad over meats in an attempt to conceal them and avoid having the higher priced items scanned at the register. Flores would pay by check for the items that were scanned, police said.

Merlino said police took his client into custody at the restaurant last month during dinner service.

“They arrested him and embarrassed him in front of clientele,” Merlino said. “He has zero criminal history. There are no allegations of violence or the use of weapons.”

One of the wholesale company’s clerks, Alexandria Shatika Davis, 27, of Fort Lauderdale, turned herself in to police on June 5. She admitted to not scanning all of Flores’ items when he would shop, and received free meals and cash from him, an arrest report said.

She also faces a grand theft charge and was released on a $1,000 bond. Her lawyer could not be identified.

The investigation concerning the second clerk is ongoing, police said Thursday.

Merlino called Flores a “pillar of the community.”

“The case is in its infancy. We’ll break down [evidence] to see if the state’s information corresponds to what I have regarding purchasing records,” he said. “And I’ll be interested to see if surveillance video from GFS shows these alleged transactions.”

Flores