Men steal $20,000 in produce from employer | Crime

Wimauma, Florida -- Three men were arrested for stealing about $20,000 worth of produce from a distributor in Wimauma.

Detectives say between April 26 and May 9, Hearne Produce's supervisor Gerald Miller, along with warehouse manager Rigoberto Lozano, manipulated orders and shorted Hearne several pallets of produce a day. When shipments arrived, Miller would not account for the full shipment.

Lozano would load the stolen produce into Jose Rios-Ventura's trailer who would then sell it for cash. The cash was split between the three men.

Owners of Hearne Produce became aware of the thefts when they called some of their customers to ask why they had stopped ordering from their company.

Rios-Ventura, 48, and Miller, 50, were charged with Grand Theft and Dealing in Stolen Property. Lozano, 32, was charged with Grand Theft.