Police are searching for a former airport car rental employee accused of orchestrating the theft of 47 vehicles worth more than $1 million from the Avis Budget lot at a Syracuse airport, authorities said Friday.
The suspect, identified as Milton Thompson III, 31, allegedly stole the vehicles over a two-month period between June and August, according to the Syracuse Regional Airport Authority Police Department.
Thompson, a former employee of Avis Budget Car Rental, is wanted on grand larceny and scheme to defraud charges, The Post Standard reported.
Investigators said Thompson led a network that rented out the stolen cars at other locations across Onondaga County.
The thefts were discovered when Avis Budget reported dozens of missing vehicles to authorities earlier this year.
Officials said 42 of the 47 vehicles have since been recovered, but police continue to search for Thompson and the remaining cars.
Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Thompson is asked to contact the Syracuse Regional Airport Authority Airport Police Department at 315-455-3500 or email at [email protected], the department said in a statement.
Authorities did not specify how the vehicles were taken from the airport lot or how long the scheme went undetected. Several other individuals have been arrested and charged in connection with the case, police said.
Investigators have not said how long Thompson had worked for the company or whether he acted alone in initiating the thefts.
According to the Associated Press, police believe Thompson used access privileges as an employee to remove the vehicles and re-rent them out at off-site locations, sometimes through informal channels.
The Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office is assisting airport police in preparing charges.
Thompson, who remains at large, is described as a black male, 31 years old, formerly employed by Avis Budget at the airport.
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