[cwgator]

Report: Orlando cop gets 30 day suspension for stolen theme park ticket scheme

Orlando Police Department Officer Wendell Robey, accused of selling stolen theme park tickets, was suspended for 30 days without pay after appealing an earlier decision by the department to fire him, according to a WFTV.com report.

According to the report, Robey, who worked off-duty for Universal Orlando, admitted he made $15,000 a year in the scheme, and pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors counts in his criminal case.

Orlando cop accused of selling fake park tickets suspended

ORLANDO, Fla. —

An Orlando police officer, who could've been fired for selling stolen theme park tickets, was suspended for 30 days without pay instead. WFTV reporter Kathi Belich found out that Officer Wendell Robey is using some of his paid time off during his suspension.

Robey was about to be fired after his arrest, along with his wife and three others on grand theft charges, for selling stolen complimentary Universal Orlando tickets.

Robey, who worked off duty for Universal, admitted he made $15,000 a year in the scheme.

On Thursday, Belich found out that instead of firing him the Orlando Police Department suspended him for a month.

The union contract with the department allowed him to use 216 hours of his accrued sick and vacation time toward his 240-hour suspension. Therefore, he will only face three days of unpaid suspension.

A number of considerations played into his decision, after Robey appealed the termination through the union. One was that Robey had an otherwise clean record in his 11 years on the force.

"I saw remorse in his eyes, his questions were honest, he looked me in the eye and in the end, the totality of circumstances, I wasn't going to kill the guy and take his livelihood away for one mistake in 11 years," said Deputy Chief Jeff O'Dell.

Robey and his wife were also accused of buying and reselling guest key cards from the Hard Rock Hotel bell hops, which allows free parking and express theme park access.

One of the bell hops called Robey a '"hustler."

The Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation, which includes his own department, found the Robeys started advertising on Craigslist to sell the stolen stuff.

As for his criminal case, earlier this year, Robey took a plea deal. He admitted to two misdemeanors and his felony charges went away.

Thirty days suspension is the department's maximum punishment before termination.

Now you know if it had been a "regular person" doing this they'd be serving jail time and possible prison sentence and fines. They most likely wouldn't still have their job either after the publicity. What is really going on.

[coasterbruh]

I need to join a union!

[arby]

^move up north, then. They are doing a good job of driving up the cost of overhead and forcing companies to move down south where we're not nearly as unionized.

My wife's last job had a union. The employer said they'd give them a 5% pay raise. The union said it wasn't enough and fought the employer for 9 months. When it was all said and done, she got a 3% pay raise instead, nearly a year later.

Unions had their place in history protecting workers. They did a good job running the steel industry into the ground (my dad is a retired steel worker). I think a majority of them should be done away with.