Follow-up on OLD case

Richard Allen, a former Navy officer, was sentenced to 18 months  for stealing Navy equipment. What’s interesting is that this is part of a story originally penned by Jonn in 2015.

Richard Allen, 53, pleaded guilty Aug. 29 to conspiracy and six counts of money laundering. Now he’ll serve 18 months in prison followed by three years of federal supervised release, the United States Attorney’s Office said in a Nov. 21 news release.

Allen was also required to pay “$100,000 plus any sum obtained through forfeiture and directed to restitution.”

Allen was convicted of stealing and reselling property valued at $856,433, and originally faced up to 125 years. Now, whoever his lawer is, if I ever got in trouble, I think I would want them – 125 years bargained down to a year and a half? I wasn’t aware that Soros-bought judges were also in the military, but what do I know?

Using his access, Allen stole $856,433 worth of Navy gear and supplies, including uniforms, winter gear, flame retardant shirts and pants, soft body armor, goggles, infrared flag patches, Navy SEAL Trident insignia and Small Arms Protective Insert plates, according to court records.

Then, Allen and his co-conspirators sold the military gear to buyers in over 50 countries, including Russia and China, authorities said. Military.com

Allen even monitored secure base police comms to make sure the thefts were successful. Just think, if he only knew a foreign language he could have worked with Naval Security Group and done some good.

What makes this a follow-up? Right at 9 years ago, Jonn did an article on December 20, 2015 about one of Allen’s co-conspirators, Matthew DeLeo. According to the article Jonn linked:

Witnesses testified that Deleo sold $145,000 of equipment on Ebay to foreign customers. When the FBI arrested him, they found evidence that he was even in the middle of a transaction with a Russian buyer.

Prosecutors argue that in additional to outright stealing from the Navy, Deleo sold items that would help foreign nationals successfully pose as American service members. Considering how often American citizens pull the same stunt, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that someone from Chin or Russia would use the uniforms for nefarious ends. The Sitrep

One of Allen’s co-conspirators, Matthew Thomas Deleo, was arrested in December 2015. He pleaded guilty to three charges in 2018 and was sentenced to “time served (approximately 19 months), 3 years of supervised release and ordered restitution in the amount of $866,582.97,” court documents said. Military.com

Pretty big gap between $150K and $866K.  DeLeo’s defense lawer (apparently  bit inferior)  tried a novel approach:

Deleo’s defense argued that the crime really wasn’t that serious. “We’re not talking about weapons and arms,” she said. The Sitrep

Reminds me of a murder trial I heard about involving a couple of Defense Language Institute soldiers – after all the testimony, the defense lawyer tries to get charges dropped because  “Your Honor, my client confessed while under the influence of marijuana!” Judge just looked at him and says “So?”

Happy Thanksgiving to all! Spend time with whatever family you have, invite someone who doesn’t have one to share it with you. Remember, ‘family’ is whoever you want it to be.

Category: "Teh Stoopid", Crime, Navy