Willy Wonka would not have been happy with three people accused Wednesday of stealing $32,000 worth of candy from the Hershey warehouse in Granite City, I..
Two warehouse employees and a security guard were charged with burglary and felony theft for allegedly stealing chocolate bars and other candy from the warehouse by the truckload in May, June and July.
Granite City Police Maj. Rich Miller said the suspects -- warehouse employees David J. Rosales, 29, of Bethalto, and Donald R. Rose, 39, of Alton, and security guard Robert G. Veith, 29, of Wood River -- stole a truckload of candy on four or five occasions.
Miller said the warehouse employees "worked out a deal with the security guard to let them into the facility. They'd share some of what they took with him for letting them in."
He said the suspects claimed they've been giving the candy away.
"They couldn't really tell us a good purpose for what they were doing with it," Miller said.
Detectives found about 13 cases of candy in a garage owned by one of the suspects.
Management noticed a large amount of Hershey candy products was missing during an inventory and contacted Granite City Police, who have been conducting an investigation.
"It's amazing what some people will steal, the position they put themselves into -- to get arrested and lose their jobs for something so trivial," Miller said.
Madison County Circuit Judge Charles Romani set bail for the defendants, who were not yet in custody on Wednesday afternoon, at $50,000 apiece. They face up to seven years in prison if convicted.
