N.C. man charged in national probe of stolen body armor

Bakersfield Californian ^ | 4/9/04 | AP - Raleigh

[NormsRevenge]

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - A Wilmington man has been charged in a nationwide investigation into sales of stolen body armor to anxious military families. Media reports of a shortage of the vests left many military members and their families fearing they wouldn't have the necessary equipment when they were deployed.

More than 150 people in 33 states are suspected of selling stolen protective vests on the Internet auction site eBay.

James T. Fussell, 47, of Wilmington, is one of seven people charged so far, authorities said.

Fussell was charged Thursday with unauthorized sale of government property, and he faces a maximum of two years in prison and $200,000 in fines.

Investigators with the federal Defense Criminal Investigative Service, a branch of the Department of Defense, said more sellers likely will be arrested in North Carolina and around the country.

Investigators executed 10 new search warrants in North Carolina this week, both at Fort Bragg and at private homes, which could lead to more arrests.

"They were basically preying on the fears and concerns of military members and their families," said Ed Bradley, special agent in charge of the service's Northeast Field Office, which led the investigation.

Searches were also going on this week in six other states. The sellers were offering specially designed military vests, along with the protective inserts that make them bulletproof, for between $200 and $1,000, Bradley said.

Bradley said some sellers mentioned the shortage on their Web sites. He said the investigation began in July 2003, after someone reported seeing military-issue vests for sale on eBay.

Investigators soon discovered more than 500 sets of vests and a like number of inserts for sale on the site, and more continue to pop up, Bradley said. Investigators have recovered about 100 sets of each since July, and they are still searching, Bradley said.

Fussell, who works with the state Department of Transportation, said he didn't know he was selling stolen items. He said he was living in Clinton at the time and making extra money by buying items in pawn shops, at yard sales and from friends, then reselling them.

Fussell said he realized about a year ago that the military vests and inserts were a hot seller on dozens of sites, so he started buying and reselling them. He said that they were widely available at pawn shops and yard sales but that he got most from a supplier he wouldn't name.

"I'd seen the vests for sale on eBay for a long time," Fussell said. "Last year about this time, eBay was just covered with them. Everyone else was doing it, so I did it."

Fussell said he has been working with investigators for several months, helping them to find his suppliers and showing them other sellers on the Internet. Because of his cooperation, he said, he hopes not to serve any prison time.

The investigation could lead to severe penalties for many. Marine Staff Sgt. Marvin Funiestas, 26, of Camp Pendleton, Calif., was found with more than 100 pieces of stolen body armor. Last week, he was convicted in a court-martial and sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of conspiracy, wrongfully selling government property and larceny.

Bradley said investigators are not going after the buyers of the vests because many do not know they are stolen.

[Gerasimov]

This butthole should be dressed up like a mullah and air dropped into Fallujah!

[MEG33]

Greed knows no bounds.

[Domangart]

These vests are accounted for as expendable items. If you have a supply account you could order many at a time. The problem is they last a long time. You have a unit of issue of 1 ea. So if in the past you have ordered 300 and there are only 200 in the unit you have some problem to explain. There is an audit train somewhere and the army holds on to things till they are junk, then turns is into disposal. The NG would make them account for spoons and pins from the M18 smoke.

[Ruth A.]

He said that they were widely available at pawn shops and yard sales but that he got most from a supplier he wouldn't name.

And why isn't he naming his supplier. I feel that these guys should get much stiffer penalties--especially if the vests did make their way to China and drug dealers.

[azhenfud]

That guy made the wrong inVESTment.

[snopercod]

This butthole should be dressed up like a mullah and air dropped into Fallujah!

Why? For selling things he bought in pawn shops and yard sales to people who want to buy them?

Or is it selling body armor to the kids going to Iraq that bothers you?

[boxerblues]

Marine Convicted for Selling Body Armor on eBay

Tuesday, April 06, 2004



CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — A Marine has been convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison for selling stolen body armor (search) over the Internet.

Marine authorities said they believe Staff Sgt. Marvin Funiestas (search), 26, sold 100 to 110 of the ceramic-reinforced vests before he was arrested in November. The vests were intended for U.S. troops; some servicemen in the Middle East have reported trouble obtaining vests.

Funiestas was sentenced last week on charges of conspiracy, wrongfully selling government property and larceny.

Investigators believe another Marine, who has not yet been charged, falsified reports about the number of vests on hand and sent vests to Funiestas, who sold about $88,000 worth of equipment for $35,000 to $40,000.

"This was brand-new equipment," prosecutor Capt. Mark Spalding said. "This is especially hard to take because we are having a hard time getting enough vests to field with our Marines."

The sale of the vests, known as Point Blank Interceptor Ballistic body armor, is restricted to law enforcement and military personnel.

Authorities are trying to retrieve the body armor. One eBay customer in San Diego bought two vests and shipped one to a son-in-law in the Army, who was stationed in Kuwait and had not been issued a vest.

Spalding said that while most of the vests were sold domestically, at least two or three went to China, raising concerns that Chinese engineers may try to duplicate the design.

[boxerblues]

One of the "buttholes" involved was a Marine

[snopercod]

Oh absolutely. The guy who stole them should pay. My comments were directed toward the guy who innocently bought them not knowing they were stolen.

The greater issue, of course, is that there is a shortage of these vests for our soldiers, prompting families to have to buy them on e-bay and at yard sales. PMSNBC Article on shortage:

Body armor saves U.S. lives in Iraq (Pentagon criticized for shortage of protective vests)

[boxerblues]

My sons unit was one that shortchanged at the beginning of the war of the new ceramic armor. The infantry units were all given it first and then it passed on down the units based on need. What my son ended up with was a vest from the Vietnam era, better than nothing at all, but not up to todays standards. The DOD had set a DEC 2003 to get the new armor to the troops but missed it. We need answers as to why, this is unacceptable.

The Marine who sold it, needs to be locked up he sold out the lives of his buddies for a few buck. How many from his unit died because of his greed for the almighty dollar.

[Gerasimov]

A Marine who was making a profit by selling body armor that he most probably knew was stolen ,,, all while his fellow Marines were in combat and dealing with a body armor shortage. yep, still a butthole in my book,

[Gerasimov]

Why? For selling things he bought in pawn shops and yard sales to people who want to buy them? Or is it selling body armor to the kids going to Iraq that bothers you?

Were we reading the same article? First of all, if you believe he got all those vests in "yard sales and pawn shops" I've got a five star hotel on ocean front property in Fallujah to sell you. Secondly, those "kids going to Iraq" were short on vests ... over 500 were stolen. These thieves were making a profit off stolen U.S. Government property at the expense of our troops in the field.

[azhenfud]

"Spalding said that while most of the vests were sold domestically, at least two or three went to China, raising concerns that Chinese engineers may try to duplicate the design."

Or they'll develop a weapon sufficient to compromise the plates.

[snopercod]

These thieves were making a profit off stolen U.S. Government property at the expense of our troops in the field.

Well, look at it the other way. These thieves commandeered vests that were sitting in a warehouse somewhere and distributed them to our troops in Iraq. In WW II, they would have been heroes.