St. Pete Pastor Charged In Multimillion-Dollar Retail-Theft Ring: AG

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — A St. Petersburg pastor faces charges for operating a multimillion-dollar retail theft ring.

Robert Dell, pastor of The Rock Church and the founder of a halfway house serving those recovering from drug addiction, was one of five people arrested and charged for stealing more than $1.4 million in merchandise from Home Depot stores across multiple counties, according to a news release from Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office. The group sold the stolen items on eBay.

The case was investigated by the Florida Organized Retail Crime Exchange Taskforce, which worked with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

“This pastor clearly skipped over the commandment — thou shall not steal,” Moody said. “Our FORCE task force shut down his criminal operation stealing millions of dollars worth of merchandise from Home Depot stores across the state to resell the items on eBay. We will not tolerate organized retail theft in Florida and my office will continue to combat these criminal organizations.”

Dell and his accomplices shoplifted Milwaukee, DeWalt and other branded products from Home Depot stores in Citrus, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sarasota counties.
His co-conspirators, Daniel Mace and Jessica Wild, stole the majority of the merchandise, targeting, on average, stores five to six times a day, Moody’s office said.

They’d bring the stolen items to Dell’s house and he sold them under the eBay store name “Anointed Liquidator.”

He “demanded the crimes under the threat of abuse and used the positions of being a pastor and founder of a halfway house to manipulate other vulnerable people to participate in the criminal scheme,” the attorney general said.

Dell operated the scheme for more than 10 years, resulting in the loss of more than $5 million.

His wife, Jaclyn Dell, and his mother, Karen Dell, also assisted in the scheme, collecting and shipping the stolen goods and helping in the payment for them.

Jaclyn Dell was charged with conspiracy under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and Karen Dall was charged with dealing in stolen property.

Pastor Dell was charged with racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering and dealing in stolen property as an organizer, all felonies.