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Worker Accused Of Stealing Lawn Mower From City

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By JOSH POLTILOVE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 27, 2009

TAMPA - A city of Tampa Parks and Recreation Department employee stole a riding lawn mower from his employer, Tampa police say.

Officers arrested Robert Leonard Ramshardt, 57, of Riverview, at 2:40 p.m. today. He was charged with one count of grand theft.

A person renting property from Ramshardt notified the Tampa Parks and Recreation Department about the stolen item. He described the mower and said Ramshardt told him it came from the city. The renter also produced a picture of the mower in Ramshardt's yard.

"According to the tenant, the employee bragged that he had removed the City of Tampa asset/serial number plates and deleted the paper trail on a Toro riding mower," a Tampa Police Department news release states.

The lawn mower had been purchased for about $14,000 in 2000.

During the police investigation, the mower was found at a city maintenance hub at 3850 W. Marcum St., police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said.

Its serial number had been removed, but detectives found another serial number.

"City records showed the mower was to be sold at the Tampa Machinery Auction in 2007, but that never took place," the release states.

When the mower disappeared, city employees had assumed it had been auctioned, McElroy said.
Ramshardt had been a city employee for 14 years, serving as an Automotive Equipment Operator II.

Police say he told them he took the mower for his personal use and that Ramshardt's neighbors saw him using it.

Ramshardt was suspended without pay. An investigation continues.

He remains in Orient Road Jail today. His bail is set at $2,000.

The mower will be auctioned off, and whatever money is received will go to the city's general fund, McElroy said.

Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at (813) 259-7691.

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