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23 Dec, 2019 18:48

Mexican ambassador resigns after ‘shoplifting spree’

Mexican ambassador resigns after ‘shoplifting spree’

Mexico’s ambassador to Argentina has resigned for health reasons, after he appeared to be caught on camera stealing a $10 book, and was also accused of pilfering a shirt from an airport shop.

Ricardo Valero, 77, was first recalled by Mexico’s foreign ministry earlier this month, after he was allegedly caught on camera taking a book from the shelf of a Buenos Aires bookstore, hiding it inside a newspaper, and walking out of the shop.

The book is believed to be a biography of Giacomo Casanova, the 18th-Century author, spy and playboy, and retailed for around $10.

The government accepted Valero’s resignation on Sunday after he was accused of another petty theft, this time of a shirt from a duty-free shop in Buenos Aires’ airport two weeks ago. Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard wished the diplomat a “speedy recovery.” Local media said that Valero’s survived a brain tumor about 6 years ago and that his condition has been monitored ever since. 

Also on rt.com Mexico’s envoy to Argentina recalled over alleged theft of Casanova's bio from bookstore (VIDEO)

One would think that diplomats’ and politicians’ salaries would make shoplifting pointless, but a surprising number of them get caught with their hands in the cookie jar. In the US, Republican Congressional hopeful Danielle Stella was arrested twice this year and accused of stealing $2,300 worth of goods from a Target store, and $40 worth of groceries from another outlet. As a kicker, Stela had pushed a tough-on-crime platform, complaining that her Minneapolis district was the “crime capital of the country.”

Back in 2011, California State Representative Mary Hayashi was caught lifting $2,445-worth of items from a luxury San Francisco department store. In Australia the same year, Senator Mary Jo Fisher was charged with shoplifting and assaulting a security guard in an Adelaide supermarket. Both women claimed mental illness led to the incidents. 

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