Salvation Army officials say the man sold cars that were donated to the agency and kept the money.
By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER
Published September 9, 2004
A 38-year-old volunteer for the Salvation Army in Tampa was arrested Tuesday after allegations he sold cars that had been donated to the nonprofit agency and kept the money for himself.
Phillip J. Valenti, of 2620 Bentley Dr. in Palm Harbor, faces two counts of grand theft auto, one count of dealing in stolen property and one count of grand theft, according to jail records. He's being held in the county jail on $13,500 bail.
According to Hillsborough Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Rod Reder, the agency's investigation began when Salvation Army officials noticed a donated 1988 red four-door Audi was missing. Investigators subsequently discovered a 1993 Subaru donated to the Salvation Army had been sold privately for $2,000 to a Northdale family, Reder said.
Sheriff's deputies haven't recovered the missing Audi, but the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office found a third vehicle donated to the Salvation Army, a 1995 Nissan, at Valenti's home, according to a Hillsborough Sheriff's Office report.
"People probably turned the cars in and he didn't even make a receipt," Reder said. "That way the donation was untraceable."
Reder said Valenti volunteered at the receiving facility between March and August, and detectives believe other vehicles donated there may not have been accounted for. Anyone who donated a vehicle to the Salvation Army in Tampa during that five-month period but didn't get a receipt is asked to call Detective O'Neal Jackson at 813 247-0582 or the Salvation Army at (813) 972-0471, ext. 223. Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler can be reached at (813) 226-3373 or svansickler@sptimes.com
