Former Biltmore Hotel employee charged after 192 lobster tails and pork belly vanish in Coral Gables
A former employee of the historic Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables was arrested Monday, October 5, and charged with grand theft after nearly $8,000 worth of food disappeared from the hotel kitchens, according to the Coral Gables Police Department.
Diego Alfredo Medina Acosta, 37, was taken into custody after the hotel’s head chef noticed major discrepancies in the weekly food inventory, police said. The missing items included 192 lobster tails valued at $6,525, 116.7 pounds of pork belly worth $637, 30 portions of center-cut snapper, 11 cleaned calamari, shrimp, Argentine chorizo, gnocchi and coconut milk. Police valued the total loss at $7,854.36.
The thefts came from the kitchens of the Biltmore Hotel, a 271-room luxury property at 1200 Anastasia Ave. in Coral Gables. The hotel opened in 1926 and has been designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior. It is operated by The Biltmore Resort International and is known for its restaurants, golf course and event spaces.
Police said Medina Acosta was a former employee but did not say what his role was at the hotel or how long he had worked there. The Biltmore Hotel did not respond to requests for comment.
Medina Acosta was charged with grand theft, a felony. His bond amount was not immediately available, and it was not clear whether he had an attorney. A court date has not been set.
The case remains under investigation, police said. Anyone with information was asked to contact the Coral Gables Police Department at 305-442-1601.
