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Airline employee believed to have stolen more than 93 pieces of jewelry
Airline worker arrested for stealing from luggage at D/FW
By Jason Whitely
August 29, 2011
D/FW AIRPORT — Police charged an American Eagle employee with theft, and believe he stole almost 100 pieces of jewelry and sunglasses from passenger luggage over the last year.
Airport police also charged Jose Alberto Peralta, 46, for tampering with a government record, alleging he used a false date of birth on a renewal application for a security badge.
Police said Peralta, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, sold 93 pieces of jewelry to pawn shops in the last 12 months and collected $10,320.
Last Friday, police said they planned to conduct a sting operation to see if they could catch Peralta, but had to cancel it because the aircraft Peralta was working on had mechanical issues and the "bait bag" was never loaded.
Still, when detectives confronted Peralta, they found two silver bracelets, a pair of silver earrings, a gold heart-shaped diamond pendant and Oakley sunglasses wrapped tightly in a paper towel at the bottom of his backpack.
"When asked about the jewelry items, Mr. Peralta stared at the floor and hesitated for: 20-:30 seconds before answering," the police report stated.
Peralta said they were his items, but then later said, "I don't want to talk about it anymore," according to the report.
Police also noted that Peralta had three pair of sunglasses on his head as they talked to him.
The 46-year-old suspect denied stealing the items, and later told police that all the jewelry he sold to the pawn shops are items he carried from the Dominican Republic because gold prices are higher here.
Peralta eventually did admit to taking the gold heart-shaped diamond pendant from an aircraft and said he had intended to turn it in, but forgot.
Another American Eagle employee tipped off investigators to what Peralta is alleged to have done.
D/FW Airport Police said Peralta has been suspected in previous cases of theft from passenger luggage though no charges were ever filed.
Peralta lives in the 14300 block of Centerpoint Landing in Fort Worth with a Permanent Resident Card, according to the police report.
He told investigators that an error had been made years ago giving him two birth dates, but he never got it corrected.
Peralta hung up on a reporter when reached on his cell phone Monday night.
The airline said it would not comment because this is a criminal investigation.
It's uncertain how long Peralta has worked for American Eagle.
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