2 former water park workers accused of theft

Associated Press

Saturday, Aug. 16, 2014 | 2:33 p.m.

Two former employees of a Las Vegas water park have been arrested on suspicion they stole $116,000 from the amusement park.

Authorities say a former assistant manager gave the code to a safe to an employee who had been fired, allowing that man and an accomplice to break in to Wet n' Wild early Aug. 4.

All three were charged with robbery and burglary. They have yet to enter pleas.

Nicole Vigna, 23, had quit her job as assistant manager two weeks prior to the robbery. Matthew Ward, 20, was fired in March. The man with Ward during the heist was Cornelius Brown, 21, who didn't work there but was dating Vigna, authorities said.

Attorneys representing Ward and Brown could not be reached for comment. Vigna's attorney, David R. Fischer, said he had no comment because he had received the case just recently.

Police say Ward and Brown scaled the fence at the water park at 5 a.m. and after encountering a security guard, began talking with a woman using a handheld radio. Investigators believe that was Vigna. She acknowledged giving the codes to the safe, but says she had no part in the crime.

The two men entered the park's vault and stuffed cash into a gym bag, police said. They dropped several thousand in cash as they ran away as the alarm sounded.

It didn't take investigators long to figure out what happened and identify the suspects: the robbery was captured by the water park's security cameras.

Police arrested Ward in a hotel room with $50,000 two days later. They arrested Brown and Vigna two days after that.

Preliminary hearings are scheduled for all three later this month.