Minnesota Man Suspected of Stealing $25K in Laundry Detergent

(NewsCore) - WEST ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A Minnesota man has been arrested and charged with stealing thousands of dollars worth of laundry detergent, apparently by wheeling it out of a store in a shopping cart.

Patrick Paul Costanzo, 53, was charged with one count of theft in connection with the heist of $6,000 worth of Tide from a West St. Paul store on Feb. 7, KMSP-TV reported Monday.

Employees reviewed security tape from the store and told police they saw the same man taking detergent and other items from the store four or five days per week, the station reported. He allegedly pushed the detergent out of the store in a shopping cart.

The name of the store was not disclosed.

Video surveillance apparently showed the man at the store 28 days between Jan. 1 and Feb. 7, with an estimated $6,339.09 in merchandise stolen during those days, KMSP-TV reported.

Over the past 15 months, however, inventory reports showed approximately $25,000 in laundry detergent missing from the store. Police are reviewing surveillance video to see if the suspect had been in the store and wheeling out merchandise during that time.