Casino Cash Cage Supervisor Stole $10K, Police Say

A supervisor in the “cage”—the center of cash storage and distribution at the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem—is accused of stealing $10,000 from his employer, according to court papers.

Jesus Manuel Gonzalez-Torres, 23, of 626A Ramblewood Lane, Freemansburg, admitted to Pennsylvania State Police that he snuck several hundred dollars a day—three or four times a week—out of the cage over the course of 13 months, beginning in March 2012, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

The state police Bureau of Gaming Enforcement began its investigation into Gonzalez-Torres on April 15 after casino surveillance personnel reported that he was stealing cash, troopers said.

According to the affidavit:

• Casino surveillance employees began reviewing recorded video of Gonzalez-Torres at work after a fellow employee alerted them that he may be stealing. They then found, through the investigation, one alleged theft committed on April 13.
• At a little before 11 a.m. on that day, an employee brought $780 to the cage from a voucher redemption unit where customers get vouchers for cash. Gonzalez-Torres accepted the cash and brought it to a more private cashier window area.
• He put the money on the counter and began to fill out necessary paperwork indicating how much money he had received.
• He then removed some of the bills from the stack and put them into what appeared to be a sticky note pad. He took the pad with the money and put it into a drawer, which casino personnel said is not proper procedure.
• Further investigation by Sands surveillance personnel revealed that the paperwork Gonzalez-Torres filled out showed that he had received $80, not $780.
• At 11:10 a.m., Gonzalez-Torres returned to the drawer where he had stashed the sticky note pad containing the money and put a larger piece of paper in the drawer to cover the money.
• A little more than six hours later, Gonzalez-Torres returned to the drawer and removed papers, with the larger paper being on top. A still surveillance shot showed the larger paper concealing the money underneath.
• Gonzalez-Torres then left the cashier area and entered the cage directors’ room, where there are no cameras. Moments later, he left that room holding a clipboard with no visible papers.
• Troopers interviewed Gonzalez-Torres on April 16, and he admitted to stealing the $700 and explained his pattern of stealing a few hundred dollars a day out of the cage—three or four times a week—over 13 months. He estimated that he took about $10,000 total.
• Sands surveillance personnel then did a 30-day review of Gonzalez-Torres’s activities and found that he had stolen about $2,390 between March 17 and April 14.

Gonzalez-Torres was charged Wednesday with theft and receiving stolen property—both as third-class felonies. He was arraigned before District Judge Patricia Romig-Passaro and released on $20,000 unsecured bail.

Arrests do not indicate conviction.