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Wilton
Manors
Police
are
looking
for
a
man
who
posed
as
a
volunteer
at
the
Stonewall
Street
Festival
Saturday
night
and
made
away
with
up
to
$4000
worth
of
donations
from
four
bar
booths
set
up
along
Wilton
Drive.
Several
bartenders
told
police
the
man,
who
wore
a
volunteer
t-shirt
and
identified
himself
only
as
“Howard,”
helped
the
bartenders
get
supplies
and
made
several
rounds,
before
collecting
funds
from
cash
boxes.
The
incident
is
the
second
time
that
a
theft
occurs
at
a
Wilton
Manors
street
festival.
Last
year
thieves
stole
an
electric
golf
car
from
the
back
parking
lot
of
Petals
Panache.
Police
recovered
the
vehicle
three
weeks
afterward
at
an
abandoned
Fort
Lauderdale
golf
course.
No
suspects
were
caught
in
the
electric
car
theft;
likewise,
the
Stonewall
Street
Festival
imposter
remains
at
large.
“It’s
kind
of
an
odd
coincidence,”
said
Wilton
Manors
Police
Detective
David
Jones,
who
investigated
both
cases.
“We
haven’t
looked
at
both
cases.”
Bobby
Kyser,
in
charge
of
the
committees
that
organized
both
the
Stonewall
Street
Festival
and
the
Wicked
Manors
Halloween
Block
Party
in
October,
would
not
comment
on
either
incident.
According
to
a
police
report
filed
June
22,
at
least
three
bartenders
who
worked
the
Stonewall
Festival
reported
that
a
man
posing
as
a
festival
volunteer
made
several
rounds
at
the
street-side
bars
to
collect
money.
The
bartenders
described
the
man
as
being
in
his
40s
or
50s,
just
over
six
feet
tall
and
weighing
160
-170
pounds
and
wearing
a
straw
hat
and
a
volunteer
t-shirt.
One
bartender,
Joseph
Defini
told
police
that
he
was
wary
of
giving
his
money
to
the
imposter,
but
his
boss,
Jimmy
Cunningham,
told
him
that
it
was
okay
to
do
so.
Cunningham’s
company,
Jimmy
Cunningham
Caterers,
was
hired
to
run
the
four
outdoor
bars.
Defini
counted
out
$100
before
handing
the
man
his
cashbox,
according
to
the
report,
and
the
fake
volunteer
walked
away
only
to
come
back
later
for
more
money.
Another
bartender,
Mark
Jagielski,
told
police
that
the
man
had
approached
his
booth
several
times
and
was
helpful
in
stocking
his
station
with
ice
and
other
bar
goods
that
he
needed.
Jagielski
said
he
gave
the
alleged
imposter
up
to
$1000
in
20-
and
50-dollar
bills.
Richard
Brown,
who
bartended
at
another
booth,
told
police
that
the
fake
volunteer
approached
at
least
four
times
and
that
he
gave
him
at
least
$300.
Jones
said
police
still
gathering
scant
information
about
the
incident
and
the
suspect.
“We
have
a
pile
of
other
cases,”
Jones
said.
“We’re
looking
at
things
that
are
more
solveable.”
Still,
he
said
the
case
remains
open.
Bobby
Kyser,
chair
of
the
Pride
Fest
committee
that
organized
the
parade
and
street
festival,
would
not
comment
on
the
theft.
He
abruptly
hung
up
his
phone
when
asked
about
the
incident.
According
to
its
website,
Pride
of
Greater
Fort
Lauderdale,
the
group
that
organized
the
Stonewall
Street
Festival,
a
total
of
about
40,000
people
attended
night
parade
Saturday
and
the
Sunday
street
party.
Each
of
the
bartenders
who
spoke
to
police
told
investigators
that
the
foot
traffic
was
heavy
and
they
had
to
work
to
keep
an
eye
on
their
cash
boxes.
Jones
said
that
police
were
trying
to
figure
out
how
the
fake
volunteer
managed
to
get
a
volunteer
t-shirt.
He
said
Keith
Howard,
a
member
of
the
Pride
committee
and
manager
of
Petals
Panache,
said
he
was
the
only
person
authorized
to
collect
the
money
at
the
bars.
Howard
had
little
else
to
say
to
police,
according
to
the
report.
Roscoe
Diez,
the
treasurer
of
the
Pride
of
Greater
Fort
Lauderdale,
told
police
that
the
imposter
picked
up
his
volunteer
shirt
at
Petals
Panache,
but
at
no
time
was
he
authorized
to
pick
up
the
funds.
Diez
did
not
return
calls.
The
owners
of
Star
Electric
Cars
in
Wilton
Manors
are
not
surprised
to
hear
about
the
theft.
They
said
that
Kyser,
to
whom
they
lent
their
vehicle,
has
yet
to
take
responsibility
for
the
theft
last
year.
He
allegedly
parked
the
eletric
car,
that
was
designed
to
look
like
a
mini
Hummer,
without
locking
the
parking
lot
gate.
Wilton
Manors
Mayor
Scott
Newton
said
he
was
surprised
to
hear
about
the
theft
at
last
week’s
street
festival.
“It’s
disgraceful,”
Newton
said.
“People
make
mistakes
and
criminals
get
wise
and
find
ways
to
do
things.
I
don’t
know
what
the
security
issues
were,
but
it
sounds
like
miscommunication.”
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