Fired stadium manager deletes concessions menu on opening day in California, feds say

A former food services manager at a Major League Soccer stadium in California faces charges after prosecutors say he tampered with the concessions menu and payment options shortly after he was fired from his job.

Salvatore A. La Rosa is accused of causing nearly $270,000 in damages at the San Jose Earthquakes Stadium in February, court documents show.

Prosecutors say he intentionally deleted the concessions menu and payment options from mobile tablets used in the concession stands during the 2020 MLS opening day, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in California.

The alleged incident happened Feb. 29, about two months after he was terminated from Spectra Food Services and Hospitality, the stadium’s concessions provider, records show. He had worked for the company for nearly five years.

Prior to kickoff at the Earthquake’s first home game, “employees from Spectra could not operate their PoS (point of sale) terminals,” according to to the court records. “Initially, the employees could not complete credit card transactions or open cash drawers. The PoS terminals then lost the ability to access menu items or list any prices or inventory for items that were sold at the game.”

During the game, “the staff had to handwrite orders, use calculators to facilitate cash transactions, and received unwanted verbal abuse from customers. In some instances, Spectra had to provide free food and beverages to club members because of the lack of credit card processing.”

Spectra suffered $268,000 in damages, including lost revenue and labor costs, records show.

Prosecutors say La Rosa accessed the company’s online account and “transmitted programs, information, codes and commands to delete Spectra’s concessions menu and payment selections for the Earthquakes Stadium.”

If convicted, La Rosa faces up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.