FRUITLAND PARK, Fla. — The same key shouldn't open too many things when you work in government, but Eyewitness News found out the same master key in Fruitland Park opened things like police evidence lockers and the city vault. A few thousand dollars disappeared from the police department before city officials decided to change the locks.
The city didn't know the master keys opened every lock until police investigated the stolen money. It was quite a shock when officials went door to door at city hall, unlocking every one of them with the same key.
The Fruitland Park Police Department evidence room often holds money, but when $2,000 was missing Chief J.M. Isom investigated. While checking the lock, two public works employees were called.
"They had something to fix inside the evidence room. And the next thing we knew, he tried his key and it opened," the chief said.
The city had a set of around a dozen master keys that were not supposed to open the evidence room.
"I went over and met with the city manager, got his master key, and it opened it. So we started checking doors," Chief Isom said.
That included the door to the city hall vault.
"Went to the vault room. It's in the city finance department. And it opened it," the chief said.
The master keys were not supposed to open that door either.
"There can be as much as $10,000 in there on a given time," city manager Ralph Bowers said.
Bowers said nothing was stolen from the vault, but Chief Isom discovered the master keys opened every door in the building, and one of the keys is still missing.
Since the theft, the evidence room is now rigged with an alarm system and the locks have been replaced.
"We had locks, we had everything changed. When we found a mistake had been made, we changed everything," Chief Isom said.
The thief was never caught. Chief Isom believes it was a former employee, but he can't prove it. The city manager says changing the locks at city hall cost just $45, because they only changed the vault door and evidence room.
WFTV
