Mounties recover Navy boats swiped in scheme

[unhappycamper]

Mounties recover Navy boats swiped in scheme
Staff report
Posted : Wednesday Jan 7, 2009 17:39:54 EST

Canadian police have found a stolen U.S. Navy sailboat docked in a small town north of Vancouver, according to reports, ending a long, strange journey from the Naval Academy to an alleged scam in which it was swiped, along with millions of dollars’ worth of U.S. gear.

The vessel was part of a scheme in which a California government worker allegedly used his inside knowledge of a federal property management system to steal publicly owned equipment, trucks and even an airplane.

Steven Smith, a repair technician for the Federal Aviation Administration, was charged in November along with his half-brother, Bradley Garner, with using Smith’s inside knowledge to make it seem that he was officially taking ownership of old gear offered up by other federal agencies.

The Drug Enforcement Agency, the Coast Guard, the Forest Service and other departments used the internal Web site to announce they planned to replace worn-out equipment and offer it to other federal agencies. For example, Smith allegedly used his FAA cover to take ownership of a plane that had been used by the Forest Service.

Authorities had reclaimed many of the 215 pieces of equipment and vehicles that Smith was accused of stealing, but the Navy sailboat, the Lively, as well as a Boston Whaler motorboat, remained missing until the Royal Canadian Mounted Police found them this week in the town of Sechelt, British Columbia.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/01/navy_boats_recovered_010709w/%2e