Whitall is suspected of entering restaurants in Roseville on Feb. 6 and Feb. 10 posing as a Cal/OSHA inspector. According to the Roseville Police Department, Whitall “was neatly dressed and wore an official-looking identification card and a badge, and spent a considerable amount of time 'inspecting' each restaurant."
Whitall allegedly told the restaurant owners that he had discovered safety and health violations that would cost them several thousand dollars in fines. He then promised the owners that he would not issue the citations if they gave him some cash, which they did.
Dee Dee Gunther, a spokeswoman for the Roseville Police Department, told OccupationalHazards.com that Whitall allegedly convinced one restaurant owner to fork over $100 and the other owner to cough up $1,000.
“The guy that gave him $1,000 asked for a receipt, probably thinking it was a down payment on his fine,” Gunther said. “Of course, [the suspect] left to get his receipt and never came back.”
Gunther told OccupationalHazards.com that authorities now believe that Whitall last week pulled the same scam in the California cities of Petaluma and Hayward.
Whitall is described as a white male, 5 feet 11 inches tall and 165 pounds, with graying dark curly hair and blue eyes. He may be driving a blue 1990 Toyota Corolla station wagon with California license plates 4REU061.
Authorities believe he may be camping or staying in hotels.
Anyone with information about this suspect should call the Roseville Police Department at (916) 774-5000 or Roseville Crime Stoppers at (916) 783-7867. Crime Stoppers pays cash rewards for anonymous information leading to arrest.