Theft of $300 during ambulance ride leads to paramedic's arrest

LAND O'LAKES — A Pasco County paramedic is accused of stealing money from a patient's wallet this summer while he was transporting the 71-year-old man to a hospital.

Joshua Vitori, 26, was arrested Saturday on a charge of grand theft. Pasco County personnel director Barbara DiSimone said he plans to resign from his job today.

According to a Sheriff's Office report, on July 15 Vitori went by ambulance to a home on Carnation Lane in Zephyrhills, where a man was having chest pains. The man's wife handed his wallet to a paramedic to retrieve his insurance card. A few minutes later, the man was asked for a list of medications and was handed his wallet back, the report says.

After arriving at the hospital, he asked his wife if she had the money. She didn't.

The investigation persisted for months. Investigators interviewed Vitori, who acknowledged having the wallet but said he never opened it or saw any money in it. Another paramedic told investigators he saw Vitori with the wallet but did not see him take any money out.

It's still not clear what evidence investigators linked to Vitori, and sheriff's officials could not provide further details Thursday.

Greg Gude, Vitori's fire chief, told investigators Vitori has had similar complaints against him in the past, the report says.

Vitori, who was arrested while on shift Saturday, could not be reached. He was released from jail later the same day after posting $2,000 bail.

He was scheduled to work Tuesday but did not come in because he had been involved in a traffic crash early that morning.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, he was rear-ended on U.S. 19 by a driver who then fled the crash. Vitori followed until the driver had to pull over because of damage to his pickup. That driver, according to authorities, was New Port Richey police officer Christopher Sutherlin, who was arrested and charged with DUI, two counts of DUI with personal injury, DUI with property damage and leaving the scene of an accident involving injuries. Vitori suffered minor injuries.

DiSimone said Vitori has been with the county since October 2002 and earns about $50,000 annually.

If he does not resign, DiSimone said he would be placed on unpaid leave until the matter is resolved. Because the accusation is related to the performance of his job, he would have to be unequivocally exonerated in order to be welcomed back.

Comments on this article

by bree	Nov 3, 2008 7:05 PM
mrs b, I am going to judge him because in my dealings with him he has been an awful person. Mean, moody and totally lacking of any moral character.

by jen	Nov 3, 2008 2:21 PM
All the more reason he is lying about the crash! Doesn't like COPS and is saying Ofc Sutherlin left the scene!! Hard to believe 500 ft is considered fleeing! Maybe he has to get off 19!

by jeff	Nov 3, 2008 12:29 PM
Terry said 99.9%That means 1 out of a thousand.I think you woud find even less my friend My nephew is a Pasco paramedic,and you gentlemen and ladies do a fine and usually unappreciated job ,but believe me a lot of us do..Bless you ...jeff

by jeff	Nov 3, 2008 12:27 PM
I have read all comments and have seen that indicate that there is a possibility that the man could be innocent.Agrred the story seems to lean towards guilt ,and if he is indeed guilty,he should be punished severely.Keepin mind innocent till proven

by me	Nov 2, 2008 6:46 PM
This guy is a liar, cheat, a manipulative person, the lowest of all scum. Hes finally been found out for who he really is. i just hope the system puts him away for a long time because he will never change

by John	Nov 2, 2008 3:07 PM
McCain supporter? I'd be willing to bet that more than likely he is an Obama supporter

by mrs b.	Nov 2, 2008 3:02 PM
I am not going to judge josh vitori. my only experience with him resulted from me buying a ladder that would not fit in my car. He saw my problem and took it in his truck to my house and refused to take anything for his gas or effort. I was impressed

by bg	Nov 2, 2008 3:02 PM
Pasco is HIGH $$$ for 911.... and they collect every dime with liens.`

by bv	Oct 31, 2008 10:08 PM
He makes more than I do in a year and I don't steal. I could use the $300, but I won't steal it.

by Terry	Oct 31, 2008 10:04 PM
Yes it is part of our job to get your insurance info. I am a firefighter /paramedic but not in Pasco, so I know what I am talking about.

by Terry	Oct 31, 2008 10:04 PM
How does being a thief (innocent until proven) make him a McCain Supporter? It is very rare that a Paramedic will ever steal from a patient.You have bad people in all walks of society. I have never in my professional career and i speak for 99.9%.

by bee	Oct 31, 2008 9:59 PM
George, he was arrested Sat. a couple of days before the accident.

by Carol	Oct 31, 2008 9:29 PM
Wow, must be all of them, huh Dan? Stereotype much Danny boy?

by Chad	Oct 31, 2008 9:26 PM
I bet Vitori is a McCain supporter!

by Bert	Oct 31, 2008 8:57 PM
Just another example of your government at work. Get ready folks, soon, we will have even more government in our lives. Get ready for socialism.

by Houston	Oct 31, 2008 8:57 PM
Check the nitrous oxide tank.

by Maria	Oct 31, 2008 8:24 PM
First off, Paramedics collect missing Jewelry/cash/sexual abuse complaints like flypaper. Some are legit, many are not. Some people view them like cash cows. Make a complaint, get compensated...the medics are never believed.

by Kim	Oct 31, 2008 7:40 PM
Reminds me of when a Police Officer stole $250 from my glove box! I hope the poor guy who went to the Hosp is doing good now...

by JAE	Oct 31, 2008 7:40 PM
Only the lawyers will win. Justice will be served.

by Mary	Oct 31, 2008 7:16 PM
I find it strange that the paramedic would need the ins. card. I, too, once had to be taken to an ER via ambulance. They didn't want my ins. info., the hospital did. Something is fishy about this story.

by Yippie Yuk	Oct 31, 2008 7:15 PM
Drunk cop hits a theiving paramedic....something sounds very Pasco County about that story

by ralph	Oct 31, 2008 7:14 PM
Hope the fellow requests a trial by jury and that he gets the jury made up of older persons like myself. I'm too old to serve on a jury but otherwise I would listen to all the evidence and vote accordingly. Innocent till proven guilty always.

by TARA	Oct 31, 2008 6:54 PM
AS THE PUBLIC IS IT OUR INTENTIONS TO FOLLOW THIS THEIF WHEREVER HE GOES TO GET ANOTHER JOB AND MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE KNOWS WHAT HE DOES,,FIFTY THOU A YR AND HE'S STEALIN FROM ELDERLY .YOUNG , HIS FREINDS,,A CLEPTO. IS WHAT HE REALLY IS,,,FIRED!!!!

by Carol	Oct 31, 2008 6:53 PM
My thoughts exactly George.......something's a little too fishy here!!!

by cia	Oct 31, 2008 9:01 AM
Disgusting thief earns 50,000 a year and steals from the people he is supposed to be assisting. DOPER, YOU BET. $2000 bail, not much, he can steal that in a couple of days.

by tim	Oct 31, 2008 9:01 AM
A drunken cop runs into the back of a thieving paramedic? Good grief!

by voxy	Oct 31, 2008 9:00 AM
tip of the iceberg. what a scumbag stealing from an elderly man and woman. And I'm the nut? tampas back door

by TubbyReels	Oct 31, 2008 9:00 AM
Shame on him! Only doctors are allowed to lighten wallets with their invoices.

by George	Oct 31, 2008 9:00 AM
Sounds like his word against the wife's. I hope they have more evidence than that for an arrest. Funny how after he gets a cop arrested, he gets arrested? hummm?

by sn	Oct 31, 2008 8:59 AM
Pasco County emergency services are twisted!! No matter what this poor paramedic says Pasco county officials are going to side with the old man not their employees. And this poor kid is going to be affect for the rest of his career.

by me	Oct 31, 2008 8:59 AM
why would he take the wallet and not open it to see if the insurance card was in there? He says he took it but never opened it? And his Chief says "Vitori has had similar complaints against him in the past" What took so long to fire this guy?

by Scott	Oct 31, 2008 8:59 AM
Funny, how God will get ya back sometimes.

by Bruce	Oct 31, 2008 8:59 AM
Shouldnt the same policies of unpaid leave also apply to police officers? How come they are placed on leave with paylike the officer who was driving under the influence and leaving a scene with injuries? Your system sucks!!! It Is UNFAIR

by Dan	Oct 31, 2008 8:58 AM
Ah yes, the flowers of public servants, a hit-and-run cop and a petty thief paramedic. It's nice to be able to have such great confidence in those Who Protect And Serve.

by axe	Oct 31, 2008 8:58 AM
if he was to be on duty that morning what was he out doing at 3 A.M.?