An IHOP waiter has been arrested for being a little too generous with giving out free beverages to thirsty Brooklynites. The 27-year-old man is accused of giving away $3,000 worth of drinks at a Downtown Brooklyn IHOP.
William F. Powell, was caught after Akrell Cox, the owner of the IHOP, grew suspicious of Powell’s dismal beverage sales. According to Lawnewz, Powell explained his actions to investigators by claiming acts of charity:
“I am the modern day Robin Hood […] I am not stealing, I am serving the ones in need, I take from the rich and give to the poor.”
Powell was arrested after Cox determined that six percent of total receipt beverage sales were significantly lower than the 17 to 20 percent for other employees working the same shift and schedule.
In trying to figure out what was wrong, Cox reviewed the in-restaurant surveillance footage, which showed Powell serving a typical number of drinks with an atypical number of sales.
After being busted, Brooklyn’s Robin Hood wasn’t remorseful and didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with his behavior. Instead, he told prosecutors:
“What’s the big deal? I’ve been doing this since I started here.”
Powell faces serious charges, including grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, and petit larceny, which are quite substantial punishments in proportion to the crime.
It’s worth noting that IHOP doesn’t serve alcoholic beverages. Gawker went as far as naming Powell the “Brooklyn IHOP Hero,” and estimated the day-by-day loss, to put the crime in perspective:
“IHOP Splashers® Tropical Island Twist costs $2.29. […] If the $3,000 figure is correct, Powell gave out the equivalent of 1,441 IHOP Splashers® Tropical Island Twists between August of 2015 and February of this year. If Powell worked five days a week during that period, he gave out 10 IHOP Splashers® Tropical Island Twists on every shift.”
While giving out a few extra drinks on the house here and there is common among waiters, Gawker concludes this is a lot of drinks per day, but pleads to just fire the guy, and encourages readers to contact IHOP and ask them not to charge him with a felony.
You can do the same by clicking here.
Powell’s next court appearance is scheduled for May 11. The free drinks were distributed at Brooklyn IHOP on 253 Livingston Street between August 7, 2015 and Feb. 18 of this year.
Featured image by Mike Mozart on Flickr. Permission to use under Creative Commons.
