Parris Island first sergeant to face hearing over $1.5 million razor theft
A Marine first sergeant previously stationed at the Corps’ recruit depot aboard Parris Island, South Carolina, will face a preliminary military hearing over his alleged involvement in a razor blade theft ring.
The first sergeant was named by his initials in an Oct. 10 indictment that purported the Marine noncommissioned officer conspired with three Defense Department civilian employees, working at the recruit store and warehouse at the depot, to steal nearly $1.5 million in Gillette razors.
I had no idea there was that kind of money in the Gillette business. Maybe all of this could be avoided if they just have recruits join the Dollar Shave Club.
Parris Island has a store that sells razor blades at a discount price to recruits aboard the depot.
The Parris Island razor blade racket was detailed in a federal indictment:
Chambers allegedly had approached Brutus “and asked her to steal boxes of high-end Gillette razors, razor blades and other items” from the recruit store, according to the indictment.
Brutus then allegedly introduced two other employees, Harrison and Byson, to Chambers to help steal the razors.
Harrison and Byson allegedly were able to steal boxes of the razors from the warehouse on a weekly basis and avoided detection by evading or disabling the security cameras, according to the indictment.
The stolen merchandise allegedly was delivered in person to Chambers until he was transferred in March 2018 to Florida. The razor blades were then transported via U.S. Postal Service.
Chambers allegedly would sell the blades and split up the proceeds through wire transfer from his Navy Federal Credit Union account.
The Post and Courier reported that the use of the postal service may have caused the scheme to come apart when Chambers called about the status of boxes containing 720 packages of Gillette blades that were sent to New York.
Federal Investigators then found wire transfers to one of the DoD civilian employees, according to The Post and Courier.
Source: Parris Island first sergeant to face hearing over $1.5 million razor theft
Category: Marines, Military issues, Shitbags, WTF?
Looks like the Marine is now on the razors edge on the razor charge.
Okay Jeff, you’re on! 😉
(Shamelessly stolen from Al Gore’s invention)
1)I asked my teacher about shaving, but he said “You must razor hand first”
2) I mustache you a question , but I’ll shave it for later.
3) Knock Knock Who’s there? Razor! Razor who? Razor hands, this is a stick up!
4) When you say “raise up lights” you’re saying “razor blades” in an Australian accent
(say it real fast)
Don’t forget to tip your server…….
Did you hear about the nurse who swallowed a razor blade?
She gave herself a tonsilectomy, an appendectomy, a hysterectomy, and circumcised three of the doctors on her shift!
He never was very sharp
A real dullard…
His career was cut short.
Dumbass should have ended the racket when he PCS’d; the greed gets ’em every time…
Then the honest person in charge would start wondering how come they have an abundance of razor blades.
Are these double edge razor blades and if so, I wish I knew this guy to maybe get a good deal on the blades. I bought 40 Wilkinson 5 blades per pack back in 2016. I also use 10 shaving mugs and 10 shaving brushes which are on glass shelves so when I get to a certain mug, I change blades which gets me 10 uses from the blade. Since 1 brush is used per blade, I have to go through 6 packs before I start to shampoo the brushes. Back in the 70’s, I used to use straight razors to shave along with the strop and a duble Duck stone. I’ll most likely get “Brushed” off on this comment. A point of interest is that when we were berthed at the D&S piers at Norfolk NOB on the other side of the pier 4 Geedunck stand, there was the USS Franklin Air craft Carrier that we heard was sold to one of the big razor blade companies.
I grew a beard.
Gillette?? When I was there everything in that store was some off brand that I had never seen before or since. Even the soap.. This was in 1994.
Light House for the Blind?
Like “cashmere bouquet soap” or “jolly/jiffy”? brand shaving cream. The razors we used were pure shit.. One little blade that was good for one shave, don’t even ask me the brand of those things.. “scalpers” maybe.. Of course there was good ol aqua velva.. That was about the only thing there that was recognizable.
His Biography:
https://www.marforres.marines.mil/Marine-Forces-Reserve-Leaders/Biography-View/Article/522252/inspector-instructor-first-sergeant-4th-air-naval-gunfire-liaison-company/
Is it just me or does his biography seem kinda…weak? Looks like in the past 21 years he’s never deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan? How does this guy make 1st Sergeant in this generations Marine Corps having never deployed to the war zone?
Also “bang, bang, bang” promotions? because he is Jamaican? or because he is black? he seems to be the fair haired boy wherever he goes? something doesn’t jibe!
18 years to E8 and now a first sergeant in an ANGLICO unit? With no combat deployments. Heck, no Iraq or Astan deployments at all.
I’m impressed at his ability to impress higher ups without the usual trappings of a man vefitting his rank and position.
Yeah, his bio is weak.
I suspect he wasn’t waiting around for the “Deploy or Out” policy to affect him, so he took the criminal route to get bounced out of uniform.
Yeah I was scratching my watch and winding my ass over this whole deal. I know things have changed a whole lot in the last 45 years but, still. Every 1SGT I knew, even in Basic, AIT, and an MI Det was a Combat Vet. I worked directly for 4 different ones. They were all tough, but fair men, of high moral fiber and dedicated to the health and welfare of their troops. One in particular had a good drinking buddy who was a Staff Sgt, busted for black market activities. Top made sure the staff was prosecuted to the nth degree. Looks like this cat was on the fast track to be a professional REMF for his whole career. I wonder, if given a choice, would old dippy here take UCMJ over a personal visit from Mad Dog Mattis? Somebody needs to go by Chesty’s Grave Site and reset his headstone. All of that spinning has probably knocked it loose.
Most of you know I’m a simple Signal Puke, and as such, really not qualified to look down on or judge other military personnel…
This fuckin’ guy is the poster child for REMF, Pogue, whatever derogatory term you prefer for some assclown hiding out and basically being someone’s coffee bitch while others deploy multiple times. Fuck him, max out the sentencing, reduce to E-IOU1.
Well said.
WTH is a “bachelorette degree”? Per his bio, he has one.
It’s like a GED but not as real.
My wife watches that show. I think it means he got a rose.
This explains why Walmart has been low on such things.
One. Point. Five MILLION?!?!?
Razors?!?!?
How in the fuck, I don’t even.
😮
I had no idea there was that kind of money in the Gillette business.
Bob Kraft would tell you there’s plenty of money in the Gillette business…
I recently noticed that Kraft foods is now Kraft/ Heinz. Have not seen Kerry in the owners booth with Bob.
That is why Hack Stone makes a point of not buying Kraft products. John “I Served In Viet Of The Nam” Kerry has enough money.
Think of the CheeseWhiz.
We all know Lurch’s wife wears the pants and holds the purse strings in that marriage. I assume he gets a very limited allowance and asks permission before making a long distance call to his friends in Iran.
Yeah, Teresa is the only one in that “family” with balls. And the money.
Limabeans…you aren’t seeing fairy kerry in the booth because I believe Theresa Heinz threw his worthless ass out a long time ago! imho
As if using his Navy Federal Credit Union account to do wire transfers wasn’t sending off flares all day and night?
How the heck did he make 1SG being this utterly stupid? Perhaps he was just as good with cockmeat sandwiches as he was with razor sales?
Do we think this 1SGT just woke up one morning and decided to become a shitbird and throw away a career, or has he been a shit bird the whole time and just never got caught? Already an E-8, potential for E-9, retirement pending soon (?). Dahell and daphuque Top. This coming on the heels of your Brother Marines being feted at a White (is this raciss now) House Dinner, given in honor and memory of 241 fallen Marines. If this is true, then you are a true disgrace to every person who ever wore the uniform. Dipshit POS. Your punishment should be a lifetime of total body dry shaves with rusted, dull, pitted blades, administered by Bubba, Thor, Julio, and Mr. Tiny.
I’d vote for this one: “…or has he been a shit bird the whole time and just never got caught?”
Just never got caught until greed and a weak ego got the better of him. Always does. Always will.
My thoughts precisely 5th/77th FA.
The Jamaican-born Chambers enlisted in 1997, was 2004 NCO of the year during his tour in Bahrain, was recruiter of the year 2009 when he was in Florida, and earned a college degree and master’s degree during his career. Wonder what he will accomplish as an E1 in the brig.
He will traffic in toiletries.
Probably run the commissary as a trusty.
One word: “Salads”
To quote form Bujold, the will to be stupid can be very strong. Take the lure of ‘easy money’, add someone persuading you it’s a sure thing and “there’s no way this can go wrong”, and even smart guys have been known to get dumb real fast.
Alternatively, nobody is a genius at everything. I’ve personally known people with a solid handful of degrees who couldn’t balance a checkbook.
On the gripping hand, if he really was smart he’d have been wondering if whoever was keeping track of inventory control back at the Gillette shipper might start asking questions about why the demand for razors had suddenly quintupled; or if his bank might not report humungous wire transferrs coming into his account (y’know, kinda like actual Federal money laundering law requires them to?).
Yep.
This dude is soup.
He’s from Jamaica and likes or liked guns:
https://mobile.twitter.com/yardbwoi?lang=en
First Sergeant Chambers:
Earned approximately $5,343.60/month
($64,123.20/year: E-8 over 21) basic pay.
He was the Noncommissioned officer of the year during his tour with Marine Corps Security Force Company Bahrain in March 2004.
While assigned to Recruiting Substation Temecula, CA he was the Recruiter of the Year.
He was SNCOIC of the year in 2012 for Recruiting Station San Diego, CA.
He was a distinguished graduate from his resident PME.
Chambers completed his undergraduate studies from Grand Canyon University with a bachelor degree in business management.
Chambers completed his dual Masters of Science degrees in Leadership and emergency management from Grand Canyon University in April 2017.
High speed Marine for 21 years and he does this chit??
And now he will get zilcho, bumpkus, nadda….
Nicely done, First Sergeant Lascelles Chambers. /s
So much for internal controls. There is a reason why the audit function exists. This guy is going to end up in a federal penitentiary. Gotta wonder what he did with all of that untaxed largess.
“Gotta wonder what he did with all of that untaxed largess”
Invested it in Gillette stock?
Gillette is owned by Proctor & Gamble so he probably didn’t get any equity stock 🙂
BJs has a product line that is identical to the Gillette for about 1/3 of the cost. When I used to shave, the BJs line was a go to item.
Don’t know how it is for other guys but I can very definitely tell a difference in razor quality from brand to brand.
There’s key information missing from both the Marine Corps Times and Charleston Post and Courier stories about how Chambers got caught. Both indicate the trigger to the theft investigation was when Chambers apparently sent a shipment to New York, and then called the post office about its status.
The problem is that there’s no explanation for why the post office would call the cops. Or is it just routine for the mailman to freak out every time somebody ships a box from Florida to New York?
Perry wrote: “Or is it just routine for the mailman to freak out every time somebody ships a box from Florida to New York?”
Well, a Suspect has been arrested in Florida in connection to all those packages sent to Democrats, to include now Spartecus Booker:
https://www.foxnews.com/us/suspect-arrested-in-florida-in-connection-with-suspicious-packages-sent-to-democrats
Gonna be interesting. There is suppose to be a press conference about this @1430 hours EST.
“…law enforcement source told Fox News that the suspect is a white male in his 50s, a former New Yorker, who lives in Aventura, Florida, who had prior arrests for terroristic threats. Several of the packages went through a U.S. postal facility in Opa-locka, which is less than 10 miles from Aventura.”
I was being snarky. What’s probably more likely is that the recruit store inventory system showed a discrepancy in the razor blade count during an audit. Bean counters, even Marine Corps bean counters, typically get annoyed when they wind up missing $1.5 million worth of stuff.
What happened next could have been that one or more of the civilian employees involved got questioned and rolled over on Chambers as the mastermind. Chambers then got tied directly to the stolen goods when he called the post office.
Why the prosecution apparently doesn’t want the actual chain of events to be clear is curious. The specific method for how things led to Chambers might be something sensitive enough to keep confidential until it needs to come out at trial, or maybe for some reason the prosecution has decided to make it hard on the defense during discovery.
Prediction: will plead guilty to lesser charge with no jail time with the promise of restitution. Will be allowed to retire as E6 or E7 and when retirement is completed he will file for bankruptcy. The restitution will be forgiven and then he will file a disability claim using the crime as a reason to help secure the claim.
I have seen this before, but wasn’t razor blades, with medical supplies. Past practice is in his favor for sentencing.
So after all is forgiven he will say:
“Phew…that was a close shave”
Maybe if it was an O8, but he’s an E8. Which means it’ll more likely be prison time for 10-20, reduction to E-1, DD, etc.
Sorry. Pressed wrong key!
He also was part of a now defunk business in Florida called Plant Life Cafe, LLC:
http://search.sunbiz.org/Inquiry/CorporationSearch/SearchResultDetail?inquirytype=OfficerRegisteredAgentName&directionType=Initial&searchNameOrder=LEDGISTERLIONEL%20L160000856983&aggregateId=flal-l16000085698-643b9040-b5b0-4424-91a9-4162794dc541&searchTerm=Ledgister-Joseph%20%20%20%20Shawana&listNameOrder=LEDGISTERJOSEPHSHAWANA%20N170000076734
A shaving profile would have prevented this.
This made a song pop into my head and now it won’t leave. One of the lesser tracks from a great album –
Of course, this means yet another power point presentation for all E-4 and below.
Or a new sign in every office and barracks reading, “Thou shalt not steal.” On second thought, I suppose Mikey would protest such verbiage.
If Mikey were serious, he would swallow two dozen razor blades in protest. That would fix us.
Now that’s something I’d pay to watch on PPV.
1.5 million. At today’s prices, what is that….5 packs of fusions?
If you have the right coupon.
Oh, who am I kidding. I haven’t seen a coupon or discount on shaving gear since I was but a peach-fuzzed young whelp.
I don’t see many coupons for the blades, but often see them for the razor itself. This is because the companies want to hook you on their razor and then screw you to the wall with the price of the blades, which I have calculated to be about $40 per blade or thereabouts. I haven’t bought blades for several years b/c I switched to an electric years ago when I was hospitalized for weeks.
If you get them on sale maybe!
out here a five pack of Fusions is $24. 720 five packs is $17,280. In NYC probably double. He must of took a shiton of them.
Nothing says that 720 pack was the first, so that is $17 grand a carton. Not like stealing CPUs but still pretty lucrative.
These guys were going to start a 75 cent shave club.
Is that like 7 minute abs?
A jarhead E8, that has been in for 21 + years and no CAR or Campaign Ribbons? He is the poster child for the politically correct individual the military wants these days.
Yep. Some promotion boards can be notorious for selecting individuals in order to fill the diversity
and affirmative action quota.
With all his admin experience, you’d think he’d try to fill an augment billet and deploy (at least ONCE). Apparently not.
The sooner the Corps can divest itself of this mouth breather, the better off it will be.
The whole official picture thing for promotion really triggered me when I heard about it.
When I was in my 20s, I decided that it would be cool to have a shaving mug and brush and to take care of the whiskers with a straight razor. So, one Christmas, my then gf gave me those things and a razor strop as well. I was very pleased, until I started using them. Bled like a SOB, no matter how sharp I got that razor or at what angle I applied it to my face. It finally dawned on me that walking around with a half a roll of toilet paper on my face was no way to go through life. I also realized why men were happy when the safety razors hit the market.
You could have practiced on your gf before taking it to your cheeks! You gotta have the right soap to keep the razor from binding. I’d like to try a straight razor, again. My father was quite skillful with his. As with you, the early experiences were hit or miss and the collateral damage could soil a perfectly good shirt, tie or even a lapel.
I have my dads old straight razer and the horse hide razer Stroop. I remember moms story of my dad almost bleeding to death during a shave. And memory’s of the stroop on the backside after a bb gun incident.
Yep. Some promotion boards can be notorious for selecting individuals in order to fill the diversity
and affirmative action quota.
With all his admin experience, you’d think he’d try to fill an augment billet and deploy (at least ONCE). Apparently not.
The sooner the Corps can divest itself of this mouth breather, the better off it will be.
My apologies for the duplicated post…
It bears repeating. 🙂
My brain still locks up on how one sells stolen razor blades. I suppose the answer would be the same as how one usually sells razor blades. Little mom and pop stores that also sell hot dogs and CDs by the cash register. Or connections to?
Then again, 15 years ago baby formula was kept in locked shelves in some stores and still is in Australia, I’ve read.
Think of the average store owner who maybe makes a 10% profit on a great day, who an buy the same product for 30% off. Sells itself, especially when it is essentially an untraceable product.
YouTube has some good vids on the professional theft rings that supply the NY corner stores with tax free goods.
His bio has a few errors. He was promoted to PFC in 2004 then Staff in 2006?
His BIO is as fucked up as he is.
He attended an entry level school from November 1998 – December 1998, which suggests he should have been automatically promoted to PFC in December since the time in grade/time in service requirements for promotion eligibility are 6 months – respectively. I don’t see how (or even why) he would have been “meritoriously promoted” to PFC.
According to his bio, he was meritoriously promoted to LCpl (E-3) in March the following year – 1999. Doubtful.
What rank was Sgt Zales, E-5? He played that roll pretty good.
What the fuck?
This is akin to Amway. Sorta like having a briefcase full of soap at a nickel a bar of the profit.
Dude looks lost as well.
The “Retirement Program”.
“like having a briefcase full of soap at a nickel a bar of the profit”
He couldn’t shave the price much further.
Does this mean that instead of a knife hand, he used a razor hand?
I remember sitting in the lobby of the VFW/American Legion/etc. while my dad tended bar inside. I was a teen so couldn’t go into the area where alcohol was sold. It often was on a Friday night and I would watch the Friday Night Fights sponsored by Gillette. Their little jingle was something like, ‘How are you fixed for blades?’
Well, this greedy SOB is fixed for life. There is stupidity and then there is weapon’s grade stupidity, and this is the category this moron goes. Loss of all retired pay/benefits/etc. Jeez, what a greedy fuck.
I found the trick to getting several month’s use from a single cartridge. I shake as much water as possible, pat it with a towel and then put the cartridge end into a cup that has just enough olive oil to cover it. I was told by several that these high cost blades, even double edge blades, start to deliver less comfortable and close shaves not b/c they were dull, but b/c they got rusty. I could honestly get 6-8 weeks use from one cartridge using this trick. I started using an electric about five years ago, though, simply b/c it was much more convenient. I still have several packs of Gillette and Schick multi-blade razors, bought several years ago. I think the triple blade is the highest blade count that I have. At today’s prices, I should consider them my retirement fund. As for where these could be sold, they often appear at flea markets and probably Ebay.
I have been enjoying the new/old fashion safety razer, The blades last for months and cost nothing compared to the new stuff. The German made blades are the best. Its probably why they stopped making them no profit after initial sale.
Dollar shave club. Thank us all later.
Just caught him in the nick of time…
He took a hair cut….
A lot of shady shit goes on in those base stores. The prices for shit is absolutely ridiculous as fuck and you have a list of shit to buy. A lot of that stuff recruits are forced to buy goes straight to the cleaning locker never to be seen again. That included the most expensive razors on earth from gillete.
Recruit stuff really should be just issued with it being generic crap. That would prevent a lot of shady shit going on entirely. The companies that are getting contracts on marine recruit depots must be making a killing.
Wonder when the Nigerian lads are going to come up with a story about how he is a Sgt in Afghanistan who has secreted 4.4 million $ in a safe deposit from illicit sales of razor blades. He just needs YOU to help remove the cash, secretly, in a tin box and will split it 60% with him and 40% for you. Of course the Diplonatic Delivery Company will need money upfront. Mind you the lads are not too sharp and neither are the victims