MIAMI — Miami police say the manager of a food store in the city’s Little Haiti neighborhood was habitually stealing large sums of lottery scratch-off tickets, leading to his arrest on two felony charges Monday.
According to police, the owner of Bargain Stop Market II, located at 249 NW 62nd St., first reported the thefts on Jan. 23, about a week after “discovering that thousands of dollars had been withdrawn from the store’s bank account for Florida Lottery-related transactions.”
An arrest report states that the owner was able to pin the thefts on 34-year-old store manager Rakesh Tanguturi. Police said he initially “denied any involvement or wrongdoing” but later admitted by text message to taking scratch-off ticket books, “cashing them and using the proceeds for personal expenses.”…