DELAND, Fla. — A former waiter at a DeLand restaurant was arrested and charged with giving himself more tips than customers approved.
Police investigated Robert Gentil after one complaint from a customer over the tip amount and found more than 115 discrepancies over a six-month period.
Gentil worked at Cook's Café, and police said he altered customer tip amounts.
Harvey Cohen, Gentil's attorney, said it's odd that the arrest came after he filed a lawsuit against the restaurant, alleging it wasn't paying him, according to the law.
"All the servers, they don't touch the bill. It goes right to a cashier. So they don't have any control over that," Cohen said.
An attorney for the restaurant said servers have a code to access their tips, and he and police believe Gentil went back into the computer and changed the tips.
"I just think it's wrong. People tip, because (they) want to tip with good service. So that's what it should be based on," customer Gary Leathead said.
Police have asked customers concerned their tips were altered to notify them.
Cox Media Group
