The Marriott Hotels 'Robin Hood' now admits he slashed his ex-employers' hotel rates -- to the delight of customers -- purely to get revenge for being unfairly fired ... he claims.
Juan Rodriguez tells TMZ he was happy to help consumers get cheap rates -- some as low as $10 per night -- but he was even happier to screw the assistant general manager who fired him for disappearing from his post at a Fairfield Inn & Suites for 90 minutes.
He claims other employees at the hotel told him the asst. GM was going to make up a story about Rodriguez renting rooms under the table, so he wouldn't be able to collect unemployment.
Rodriguez says that's when he hatched his plan to strike first. He says he connected remotely to Marriott's booking network with a company password that was still active -- and started slashing rates ... knowing his old bosses would have to fix it manually.
"I actually wanted them to work. I also wanted to teach them not to keep your password out there."
As we reported, Rodriguez was busted earlier this month and charged with computer tampering and computer trespass. He says he's confessed to cops, and his attorney is trying to get the charges reduced.