FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, May 15, 1998
Contact: Jeff Nelligan, OIG Communications Director
(202) 366-6312
OIG 14-98
Inspector General Investigation
Results in Guilty Pleas for Theft
Of Copper Cable from Reserve Fleet Ships
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) today announced a guilty plea by the fifth and final person involved in thefts from Maritime Administration Reserve Fleet ships in Suisun Bay, Calif.
The plea of Michael Woodyard, Concord, Calif., caps a comprehensive OIG investigation of a burglary ring that targeted the Reserve Fleet for several years.
Woodyard pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Sacramento to conspiracy and theft of U.S. government property. The burglary ring stole copper cable and other government property valued at over $150,000. The ring operated with impunity for several years in the San Francisco Bay area, escaping detection until stolen government property was discovered at a local recycling center by OIG special agents.
Also pleading guilty to felony charges stemming from the thefts were Marlon Burton, Dominick Fulco, Desare Pelonio, and Steven Smith. On April 27, Fulco, the first to be sentenced in the cases, was ordered to serve three years’ incarceration in a halfway house, followed by three years’ probation, and to pay $10,800 in restitution to the government. Sentencing is pending for the other defendants.
The investigation was conducted by special agents in the San Francisco OIG office. The prosecution was handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sacramento.
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