A former employee of the historic Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables has been arrested and charged with grand theft after roughly 200 lobster tails and more than 100 pounds of pork belly disappeared from the hotel’s kitchens. The total value of the missing food was $7,854.36, according to the source reporting.
Diego Alfredo Medina Acosta, 37, was arrested Monday, Oct. 5, after the hotel’s head chef noticed large discrepancies in the weekly food inventory. The missing items included 192 lobster tails valued at $6,525, along with snapper, calamari, shrimp, chorizo, gnocchi and coconut milk.
Investigators reviewed surveillance footage that allegedly shows Medina Acosta arriving before his scheduled shifts and entering storage areas. In one recording, he was seen pushing a cart loaded with lobster and returning it with some of the lobster gone. Investigators also said he used entrances other than the designated employee door.
Medina Acosta told police he arrived early to prepare for work and sometimes took dirty laundry home. He said he had moved the lobster to thaw but could not explain the shortages. The hotel said losses dropped sharply after he resigned.
At his first court appearance, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mindy Glazer found probable cause for the charge and set bond at $2,500. She also ordered him to stay away from the hotel. Medina Acosta has pleaded not guilty, and the allegations have not been proven in court.
Biltmore Hotel president and CEO Tom Prescott said the hotel has a zero-tolerance policy toward theft. Reports did not say where the missing lobster ended up.
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