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TAMPA - Each month, there are dozens of auto burglaries in the motel parking lots near Busch Gardens.
The take is usually the same: laptops, CDs, purses.
Late Monday night, someone broke into a white Ford pickup parked at the AmeriSuites Hotel on 30th Street. The thief grabbed binoculars, a walkie-talkie and an innocuous-looking binder.
That binder was filled with maps, papers and lists - all of the security system at the water treatment plants in Tampa. Authorities first thought that the theft might be linked to terrorism. But Tampa police quickly dismissed that theory and said there was no sensitive information in the binder.
"There is nothing to indicate that this was anything other than a random burglary," said Tampa police Maj. Jane Castor.
According to police, the truck was driven by George Kennelly of Glenwood. Kennelly works for Protective Security Systems of Orlando, a subcontractor hired to help design and put into place proposed security enhancements at the water treatment plant on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.
Kennelly was in Tampa working on another project - not the water plant - and parked at the AmeriSuites for the evening. Castor said Kennelly thought the lot was secure because there was a guard nearby.
Tuesday morning, Kennelly discovered that the lock on his truck was broken and that the items were missing.
A police report gave the details: "Items taken included a binder which contained maps of the water treatment plants on Tampa, Fl, instructions on the cameras and defense systems of those plants, two Verex manuals with instructions on the wiring of the water treatment plants' control panels. ... "
Thefts in the area are very common, Castor said. It is likely the thief just grabbed the binder in the dark and threw it away after realizing it was worthless.
A news release issued by the city said those documents "in no way compromise the existing security system in place."
The planned improvements have not been made, officials said.
"If there is a lesson to be learned here, it is that people involved with the management and maintenance of sensitive documents should take whatever measures to keep information as secure as possible," said Mark Dubina, a special agent supervisor at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Dubina is also on the Regional Domestic Security Task Force, a group that was briefed about the document theft on Tuesday.
Dubina agreed that the city's water system is not in danger.
"The theft, while bothersome, is not going to impact the citizens' safety," he said.
- Tamara Lush can be reached at 813 226-3373 or at lush@sptimes.com