New York Authorities Arrest 4 in Scheme to Steal and Resell Military Equipment

Police car lights in a file photo. Dreamstime/TNS

New York State Police have arrested four people in the theft and attempted resale of government-owned military equipment.

After a month-long investigation, the state police announced on Monday the arrest of New York residents James Waleski, 50, and Jennifer Waleski, 40, of Jamesville; Gordon Reynolds, 44, of Chittenango, and Joriann Garcia-Hernandez, 38, of Rome.

New York authorities said in a news release that the U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID) first tipped them off in June to a suspicious Facebook Marketplace account allegedly opened by Mr. Waleski, a civilian Department of Defense employee who has been attached to the 174th Air National Guard Attack Wing in Syracuse. The Army CID further advised that the Facebook account appeared to be offering military equipment not available to the general public.

The state police executed search warrants at the Waleski residence and on Mr. Waleski’s computer and phone. They said the searches led to the recovery of tens of thousands of dollars of military equipment that had been stolen from the 174th Attack Wing, the 272nd Army Military Police Detachment in Auburn, and the Army National Guard 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in Syracuse.

Seized items as part of an investigation into the theft and resale of government-owned military equipment. Courtesy of New York State Police

Police were also able to track down and recover military equipment from recipients in New York, Texas, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Florida.

Authorities provided few details about the equipment they recovered or its specific value. Among the recovered items, they said, was a ballistic vest that was being reshipped to Russia.

Also recovered were items prohibited under state law that were not missing from military stores; they included what authorities described as an “illegal assault rifle” and “high-capacity” magazines.

Mr. and Ms. Waleski were charged with one count each of criminal possession of a firearm in the 3rd degree for possessing an “assault weapon.” Mr. Waleski was charged with another 10 counts of criminal possession of a firearm in the 3rd degree for possessing “high-capacity magazines.”

New York State law allows for possession of magazines capable of accepting up to 10 rounds of ammunition.

The Epoch Times reached out to the state police for additional details about the “assault weapons” recovered from the Waleski residence and the military equipment police recovered but did not receive a response by press time.

Mr. Waleski faces an additional felony count of grand larceny in the 2nd degree and a Class A misdemeanor for the unlawful sale of body armor.

New York State law prohibits individuals within the state from possessing, selling, or otherwise disposing of body armor unless they are employed or engaged in law enforcement or military duties or are part of a specified profession where they may face physical harm.

While investigating the Waleskis, New York authorities reported finding evidence that Mr. Reynolds, a military police officer assigned to the New York National Guard’s 272nd Military Police Detachment, was “also stealing items” as was Mr. Garcia-Hernandez, a supply specialist with the New York National Guard’s 152nd Brigade Engineer Battalion.

Mr. Reynolds faces charges of criminal possession of stolen property in the 4th degree, as well as two charges of 3rd-degree criminal possession of a firearm for possessing another unspecified “assault weapon” and possession of a prohibited magazine.

Mr. Garcia-Hernandez faces a single Class A misdemeanor charge for petit larceny.

The Epoch Times reached out to the Army CID for additional details about the case, but they referred questions back to the New York State Police.