Employee accused of stealing 47 vehicles from Avis Budget car rental site at New York airport

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — An employee allegedly stole 47 vehicles from an Avis Budget site at an upstate New York airport and rented them out around the region, police said Friday.

The car rental company reported to authorities that the vehicles, worth more than $1 million, were stolen from its location at Syracuse Hancock International Airport between June and August.

An investigation by airport police found that a 31-year-old Avis Budget employee led the theft scheme, which involved renting out the purloined vehicles at other locations around Onondaga County, authorities said. Police declined to release details of how the vehicles were stolen.

Police are looking for the employee, who no longer works for Avis Budget and is wanted on grand larceny and scheme to defraud charges. Several other people have been arrested in connection with the case, officials said.

Authorities said 42 of the 47 stolen cars have been recovered.

Asked about the employee and the thefts, Avis Budget released a statement only saying that company officials were aware of the allegations and cooperating with airport police in the investigation.