A former police officer turned trucker and pastor was one of 6 men recently charged in an organized cargo theft scheme in Tampa.
Truck driver Alexander Nealy, along with 2 other truckers who drove for SalSon Logistics are accused of stealing over $350,000 worth of Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s cargo.
The 2-month long multi-agency investigation that finally led to Nealy’s arrest came after authorities received tips about a preacher stealing cargo from the truck he drove. Macy’s also complained about missing boxes.
Investigators found surveillance video showing Nealy and another individual loading and unloading stolen boxes, but it wasn’t until deputies observed Nealy and others moving boxes from a SalSon trailer into a shipping container in a fenced lot that authorities searched three storage units and discovered the stolen goods. Nealy was taken into custody on June 25th at a church.
Police also say that Nealy staged burglaries in the units where the Macy’s cargo was being stored, which Nealy would then falsely report.
Nealy formerly worked as a sheriff’s deputy in Desoto and a police officer in Titusville. On the Bay City of Refuge Ministries in Tampa website, he is referred to as “Pastor Nealy”.
In all 5 men have been arrested and police are still searching for the sixth.
A Polk County sheriff expressed remorse to see a supposed man of faith involved in criminal activity: “I am absolutely mortified that a man who pretends to be the pastor of the word, someone who leads people in a church in this community who have faith and trust in him, is nothing more than an organized criminal.”
Sources:
Tampa Tribune
Orlando Sentinal
Bay News 9