A former Walmart worker who was part of a theft-busting duo known as “Starsky & Hutch’’ was stabbed by a suspected shoplifter — and says the company betrayed him by firing him afterward.
John Zalesky, 67, of Aurora, Colo., told The Post that he was so good at spotting shifty thieves during his 10-month tenure at a store in nearby Centennial that he and another eagle-eyed cashier nicknamed themselves after the TV crime-fighting duo — and Walmart even hailed him once with an award.
“In 10 months, I stopped well over 100 people,” Zalesky said recently, adding that his work as a front-end associate probably saved the company thousands of dollars in inventory “shrinkage,” a big deal for a relatively small store that he estimated lost $500,000 to theft last year.
“There were days we had eight, nine people in one eight-hour shift,” he said of shoplifters. “I was a valuable asset to [the store]. If I see somebody stealing, I’m gonna’ do everything I can to stop them.”
The company even recognized him for his efforts, awarding Zalesky a glass “Shrink Buster of the Month” award in February.
But Walmart execs changed their tune after the Aug. 11 incident in which Zalesky, a former highway traffic controller and warehouse worker, was wounded while trying to protect his employer, which raked in $648 billion in revenue last year.
His ordeal started that Sunday evening when his cashier counterpart quietly flagged a woman who was a well-known repeat shoplifter. Zalesky caught up to her at the front door and said he needed to see inside her bag.
“You got the receipt for this stuff?” he asked.
The woman didn’t bother to respond and instead bolted, Zalesky said.
“She wasn’t even denying it, she just took off,” he said. “And I thought, ‘You know what? I’ve had enough of this crap. I’m done with these people stealing, this one’s going to end it.’ So I actually chased her out to the car she was in, which was backed into a handicapped [spot] right outside the front doors.”
The woman hopped in the driver’s seat of the old silver Toyota sedan as a cohort — a short, shirtless man who probably weighed “105 pounds soaking wet” — moved to confront him, then changed his mind and got in the car, too.
Zalesky opened the door and went to grab the woman’s merchandise-laden purse — and that’s when the man stabbed him with a knife, leaving a small gash in his left forearm.
The male suspect tried to cut Zalesky again but missed. Then the driver hit the gas, and the outlaw couple fled.
Zalesky refused to go to the hospital and didn’t bother with stitches, even as co-workers fretted about the bloody wound. Instead, he cleaned it himself and had a pharmacist wrap it with gauze.
“It was probably three-quarters of an inch wide — nothing big,” Zalesky said of the cut. “I don’t worry too much about it. I mean, if it was serious, I’d have taken it more serious.”
The cops came and took their statements, and Zalesky was back at work the next morning.
But about a week later, he found out his troubles weren’t over.
The store’s assistant manager pulled him aside and reluctantly said the store was firing him for breaking a company policy that bars employees from following shoplifters out its doors.
“They said, ‘We just don’t have a choice, it comes from corporate,’ ” Zalesky said. “I was disgusted. Nobody had ever attempted to stop me from what I was doing before — hell, they were glad.
“They didn’t complain because it’s saving the company money and making the store look better because now your losses aren’t bad,” he continued. “They all knew I was real good … at detecting people stealing stuff.”
In a statement last week, a Walmart rep would say only that Zalesky’s situation was “unfortunate” and that the company wished him a quick recovery.
“We have trained associates to combat theft and how to follow our policies to ensure Walmart is a safe place to shop and work,” the representative said.
Police have been searching for the suspects, who cops described as in their 30s.
“The female has purple hair,” the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office said in an August Facebook post that also asked the public to call if they knew who the suspects were.
Meanwhile, Zalesky said getting fired was a bit of a relief — now he doesn’t have to deal with the nonsense that comes with retail, such as rude customers and sometimes violence.
He started a GoFundMe — which has raised about $1,600 — to help shore up his finances. And he’s taking a few weeks to figure out his next move.
But he’s still a little salty about his former employer’s decision.
“I’m sad I lost my job because I had some fantastic people that I worked with,” he said. “I looked to work there for 10 years, then hopefully retire and enjoy life. But you’re trying to do the right thing, and you get slapped for it. That’s what’s most perturbing about it.
“I was disappointed that with all the [things] I’ve done, this is how Walmart thanks you,” he continued.
“You save them thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars of merchandise being stolen. And you have one thing, with a little bitty stab wound, and you fire the guy for it?”