Gulfport DESERVES better than this! I am a customer of Neptune and I believe that Gus and Todd are very good people. That said we need to insist on accountability . This man has a record going back to 2006. A habitual offender of forgery, grand theft, drugs and counterfiet.

This information is public record and is available to anyone hiring or renting to a person. He should not have been hired at all! Check the records and I would suggest drug testing as well. We should not have to fear identity theft when we go out to dine!
All restaurants should be held accountable for the character of their employees.
He did wait on me, and did not return my $9.00 in change, I had to request it,
and he was real agitated that I did. His intentions were to steal it. The next time he waited on me he gave me 10 pennies in my change-to get even for asking for my money back.

Why did it take 5 days to arrest this man? He ran out the back door of the Neptune on April 12, and was arrested on April 17 ??!!! just curious as well as outraged!
This is hersay but I was told that he also tried to sell a handgun to another employee of the Neptune and
threatened the managers life.
GULFPORT DESERVES BETTER AND IT IS TIME WE CITIZENS DEMAND IT AND HOLD THOSE RESPONSIBLE ACCOUNTABLE!

Nancy,
According to the 9 page police report, which is public record, Singer tried to sell an employee a bus pass for $30 and tried to sell a handgun for about $200 to $250 to another employee. As for the timeline of his arrest. Officers made contact with Singer via phone after he left the restaurant on April 12. Between April 12 and his arrest on April 17, Singer told officers, during two separate phone calls, that he was going to come to the station. On April 16th, Singer told an investigator that he "wanted to be cooperative and turn himself in."

I think there would be very few servers left if drug testing was required and its kind of a bit extreme to expect restaurants to do background checks on all of their employees (especially considering there is often high turnover). The average server is paid somewhere between $3.50 and $7 an hour. They make a majority of their money from tips and if they are not somewhat charming, considerate and have a good memory, they aren't going to make very much money and/or stick around for very long. There is no doubt this guy is a crook, and the restaurant sounds like they did everything properly. Customers called in with complaints about someone stealing their credit card numbers, the restaurant researched, found the perpetrator and contacted the police. It probably took 5 days to capture this man because he was "resisting" police by evading arrest...maybe? Its unfortunate but there are scummy people everywhere and all we can do is be vigilant.

What if they committed the crimes outside Pinellas county? Pinellas county is not a terribly huge county and their website probably doesn't list crimes committed outside of the county.
I worked as a waitress for 5 years while in school and its a stressful job with crazy hours. Quite a few servers do indeed smoke pot. Also, drug tests and criminal background checks get expensive, especially when you have employees constantly coming and going.
As far as what they are paid, I was merely pointing out that they make basically nothing hourly, and in order to make descent money as a server, you need to be somewhat talented at it (charming, considerate and have a good memory and have some integrity). This tends to weed out the crappy servers too because they aren't going to be able to survive on $3 an hour.
As far as the cops not picking them up right away, how many police are on duty typically? What is the crime rate in Pinellas county? He's a nonviolent offender and so maybe not their top priority. I had someone steal and forge checks from me in Palm Beach County. The police knew who did it but were busy. They let her know they were going to arrest her and they did arrest her. They just didn't do it for a couple days. Perhaps, if we were willing to support our police agencies financially and not cut their budgets, they would be able to arrest people faster, but it sounds like this guy was evading the police and the police did capture him. That's what matters.

http://www.pcsoweb.com/ is not a particularly easy page to navigate and considering there are over 3000 counties in this country, no manager is going to go that much research to find out if their server ever broke the law.

I am not particularly an intelectual, but I am intelligent enough to write a last name into the proper slot, first name next, sex and the race --submit and there it is! Not difficult at all.

Excuses Excuses Excuses! My head is now sufficiently bruised and I must make use of my common sense else where!

Well, if you are implying I am a counsel member, you are mistaken. It is completely ridiculous to expect a restaurant manager to search the Pinellas county clerk of the court page to determine if their employees committed a crime in Pinellas county. Most people just don't have the time to do such research. I am sure the police were looking for this man, but since he didn't commit a violent act other than a threat, I very much doubt the police had 24 hour surveillance at his home or places he frequented.
I'm sure others will be very happy to have you share your "common sense" with them.

Also, these are not excuses. This is reality. Perhaps the restaurant should hire retired folks with nothing better to do but come up with brilliant ideas such as your own and then implement them. Perhaps you can suggest this to the others you are going to share your knowledge with.

There are positions of employment in which drug testing seems wise. Waiting tables is not one of them. There seems to a drug-testing mania these days which I am sad to see, especially with our archaric and moronic laws against marijuana. A reasonable background check is not a bad idea, though, as long as it doesn't completely discredit someone who has offenses in their past but has since moved on to a credible and productive life.

I can not express how relieved I am that you are not who I thought you might be! I did have great respect for that particular council person. The website is very simple to use.

Shame on him!!!!

Jennifer too bad for you that you discriminate against and have such a poor opinon of retired folks. However I am not retired.

Its one website out of over 3000. Maybe the Pinellas County Clerk of Court website is very easy to use, but as I said before it is 1 out of 3000! If we lived in Kentucky or North Dakota, maybe it would make sense. People that live in those places, tend to be from those places. Florida has people from everywhere. People are always moving here. If they are criminals, they could have committed their crimes anywhere in this country. You might catch 1 person out of a 1000 who committed a crime in Pinellas County at some point in their life, but that's not all that significant. Its not done because it is not effective. As I said, if you are so outrage, perhaps you should donate your time to looking up all of the servers and kitchen staff that work at Neptune Bar and see what you come up with. Perhaps you'll realize how futile it is...Sort of like trying to have a conversation with you.

Sorry...Maybe I shouldn't have used the word retired (I have no negative opinion of retired people. In fact, I look forward to being one one day)...Perhaps independently wealthy...no longer in the work force...Someone with free time...Unemployed and not looking for a paid position...

Very true Daniel. On many applications, it asks people to fill out if they have ever committed a crime. I believe most places take the applicants word on it. I'm not sure in how much more detail we can realistically expectant an employer to go that is trying to hire people that will be making $3.50 an hour plus tips. It is definitely a shame that this man was able to get a position where he would have access to people's credit card information, and this isn't the first I've heard of this sort of thing. People run scams at gas stations and ATMs too. I just think its our responsibility to check our credit and debit card statements to make sure we are not the victims of theft.

Not that I want the last word--but Jennifer, perhaps if you were the victim of this identity theft you would be proactive instead of reactive. Criminals that commit crimes are likely to commit them again. This fellow is from PA. yet he is mentioned 6 times on Pinellas county sherrifs website. Just saying, it takes no time and none of this might have happened here in Gulfport. It is a resource and it is free and it is easy and it is a responsible action to take to protect customers. After all the business owner is not paying the waitpersons salary ---the CUSTOMER is.

I think you're definitely trying to have the last word. That's fine. I have been a victim of identity theft. I already mentioned that. I am proactive. I don't use my card at places that are sketchy, I use cash and I check my accounts and I know what purchases are made on my cards and if something is fishy I look into it. I'm going to assume Michael Singer is not the only person that has ever worked at this restaurant and stick with my argument that checking all employees is too time consuming. Yes, the occasional criminal may be discovered applying for a job.

Nancy, You can't drive through a wall. You just have to STOP... give up... you're going nowhere here. Save your energy.

Yes Doug, I know . Keeps me on my toes!

The moment we want to believe something, we suddenly see all the arguments for it, and become blind to the arguments against it.

Jennifer: You are talking to pessimistic people who probably have never been a server or managed a restaurant in their lives. Why do you think you will be able to reason with them? But I agree with you, its absurd to expect a restaurant to perform this type of pointless time consuming research.

Elementary my dear Watson, elementary.

Pessimistic? Pointless...research? How about the fact that these employees handle cash, liquor, and customers' credit cards, the things that can make or break a business. Hardly seems "pointless."
I have been a dishwasher, a server, a bartender, and also owned several restaurants and nightclubs in South Beach. I do know what I am talking about.
Why a restaurant owner or manager would not want to spend less than 5 minutes to check the background of a potential employee, I cannot understand. It's simple, it's free, and it takes a couple of minutes. If owners and managers hire honest employees from the start, maybe they could cut down on the turnover you mention.
You both make it sound like a restaurant has to hire whoever walks in off the street. I know some fantastic waiters and bartenders, and I think they could easily pass a criminal background check. (And, I think many of them would love for the owners to vet new-hires.)

Pessimistic and perhaps paranoid? Just FYI, certain fast food restaurants and gas stations hire felons AND accept credit cards.

Duh!

Its like dealing with a child? Its ok for a gas station to hire potential identity thefts but restaurants better not or you'll get the wrath of Nancy, but not really, because she just wants to complain and not actually solve anything. Better stay away from the kool aid. Am I right?

Mark we await your solution. How would Mark prevent a diner from getting their identity stolen while dinning out? How would Mark prevent a waitperson from trying to sell an illegal hand gun to another employee while on the job? How would Mark prevent an employee from threatening the life of his ex employer? What causes Mark to believe it is OK for gas stations to hire thiefs?

Well, I am under the impression that there are bad people in the world that may try to steal my things or hurt me. I am not going to spend my life worrying about these people. I am going to protect myself. We are not going to stop waiters from stealing by searching one website. We are also not going to be able to make employees stop threatening each other by searching one website nor will we get "illegal handguns" off the streets from searching one website. Perhaps on the handgun issue, we should all write our Congresspeople and demand gun control laws? They seem to work for other countries, but here we are too convinced our country is going to turn on us and take all of our guns away. If that was too confusing for you and you are going to write something silly back, maybe I should just end this by saying, "Duh!"

Anyone remember cash? It's green and made of paper and cloth fiber. It spends well and once it's gone, it's gone. No records left behind - no identity theft. Give it a try. Works for me.

@patch--what's the status on this guy? Still in jail?

Ms. Tober, good question. It looks like Michael Singer was released from jail on 6/30/11. You can view the the Pinellas County Sheriff's Charge Report here: http://www.pcsoweb.com/InmateBooking/SubjectResults.aspx?id=1450829. I'll try to get more information on Monday.

...actually I think he may have been released to the State Dep't of Correctons (DOC)... let's hope.