A couple of Disney employees were recently caught in an undercover sting operation that you won’t’ believe.
It was recently reported that two employees of the Walt Disney World Resort were arrested after unknowingly taking part in an undercover operation. As stated in the sheriff’s arrest report from the Orange Country Sheriff’s office, Walt Disney World pulled a sting operation alongside police that led to two housekeeping Cast Members getting arrested at the Disney Resort.
On March 9, 2022, Disney worked alongside the Orange County Sheriff’s office in order to investigate suspicions regarding ongoing thefts at Disney Resort Hotels.
According to the report, Disney set up a decoy hotel room at the Port Orleans – Riverside Resort after suspicions rose of two Cast Members – Raphmarie Cartagena Torres and Aishaleam Abraham Rodriguez. Once the room was set up, number 8097, sheriff’s detectives covertly watched a live video feed from a neighboring hotel room on Disney property. The hotel room was not used by actual Guests but was set up to look like it was.
According to the arrest report, Torres, 27, was the suspect in a series of ongoing thefts at the property, resulting in Disney being skeptical in the first place.
In the decoy room, Disney left $200 in cash as bait. The sheriff’s report states that “the money was placed in a small black backpack and put in camera view.” Other items were also included in the room such as Apple products and other personal items that could be easily stolen. Around9:50 a.m. on March 9, the Cast Members under suspicion entered the hotel room with instructions to clean the Walt Disney World Resort room. The sheriff’s report details that:
upon entry (Raphmarie) is seen immediately making entry into the front pocket of the backpack, and removing the cash from the interior of the bag. Raphmarie counts out $65, places it on the television stand, and a hand is seen removing the money from the stand. Raphmarie is then seen rummaging through the rest of the bags in the view of the camera.
Once the Cast Members had left the room, sheriff’s detectives confronted the two Disney Cast Members outside. Each had taken $65 in cash that matched the serial numbers from the money left in the decoy room. Both women were arrested and charged last month with theft by an employee, according to Orange Circuit Court records. None of the other items were stolen from the decoy room.
Though it is rare for incidents such as these to happen at Walt Disney World, it is interesting to see how Disney and the police work together to help combat criminal activity. Usually, we see things like this happen with other Guests but according to the report, even Cast Members can engage in illegal activity.
It is always advisable to keep valuable items or cash kept in a safe location if you have to leave them in your rooms. Disney World Resort hotels have a safe that Guests are free to use if they would like.
