A Florida man who said he was applying for a security job at Walt Disney World in Florida wanted to impress his future bosses.
So, to emphasize what he said was the company’s lax oversight, the man, David Proudfoot, donned the gray T-shirt, beige pants and Disney name tag worn by employees at a Disney resort, the Swan Reserve, and removed an R2-D2 “Star Wars” droid as well as an unidentified game machine, authorities said.
R2-D2 may have been the droid he was looking for, but Mr. Proudfoot’s test of Disney’s security failed: He was charged with grand theft and obstruction by false information, according to a May 31 arrest report.
Mr. Proudfoot, 44, of Kissimmee, Florida, admitted to investigators that he had moved the droid, which was worth up to $10,000, and the gaming machine, Deputy Christopher Wrzesien of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office wrote in the report.
Deputy Wrzesien wrote that Mr Proudfoot had “temporarily” moved the droid from the hotel’s third floor to an unknown location. As for the slot machine, Mr Proudfoot told deputies he had no intention of moving it off the premises, according to the report.
He told investigators “he had a pending application for Walt Disney World Security and moved the items to show weaknesses in the resorts’ security in hopes of getting a better-paying job at WDW,” the report said.
Mr Proudfoot could not be reached for comment on Saturday and a lawyer for him was not immediately available. Representatives from Walt Disney World and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to requests for comment.
When authorities first arrived at the Swan Reserve on May 31, they found Mr Proudfoot disguised as an employee of the company, Deputy Wrzesien wrote.
He initially gave the investigators a false name of David E. Rodgers, but no one by that name was employed by the company. Mr. Proudfoot also said his manager’s name belonged to a Disney employee who worked in California, not Florida, according to the report.
Deputy Wrzesien accompanied Mr. Proudfoot to get items from a locker, and Mr. Proudfoot took a route inconsistent with employee procedures, the report said.
“At one point, David took us up a stairwell leading to the management offices,” wrote Deputy Wrzesien. “When I asked David where we were going, he said, ‘Oh, I thought you wanted to talk to my manager to verify my employment.'”
Investigators confirmed Mr Proudfoot’s real name with a Florida driver’s license in his possession, the report said.
mr. Proudfoot has been linked to other thefts of Disney property leading up to the R2-D2 case.
In January, at the Four Seasons Resort, sheriff’s records show he was involved in the theft of $735 worth of bathroom products from the men’s locker room. The following month, he was arrested after purchasing a gold chain worth more than $700 by identifying himself as a guest under a different name.
On May 16, Mr. Proudfoot was charged in connection with the theft of bathroom lights and a gym towel cabinet at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort. He also admitted to breaking into at least three slot machines on Walt Disney World properties, the report said.
