A Stafford man pleaded guilty today to stealing nearly $100,000 worth of military equipment from the helicopter squadron responsible for the transportation of the President of the United States.

Helicopter Squadron One transports the president and VIPs and tests and evaluates aircraft and systems for the Fleet Marine Forces.

According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, from approximately September 2013 to April 2015, Branden Roy Baker, 34, stole at least 51 image intensifiers tubes and other night vision parts worth approximately $94,392 from Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1). Baker typically negotiated the sales of the stolen equipment via email after identifying potential buyers on eBay.com.




https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/man-pleads-guilty-stealing-marine-helicopter-squadron-one



https://www.alexandrianews.org/2017/05/man-pleads-guilty-to-stealing-from-marine-helicopter-squadron-one/

I was wondering when this was going to come to light. That's a good chunk of change right there!!!  Hope all is well buddy.

Slug-O

Pretty simple for Agent Wu to trace those Pay-Pal transactions to the buyers.

Wonder what the perp had to give up to the Feds to plea bargain down to 10 years in the slammer with no parole?

Interesting.  Wonder what model(s) they were.  Isn't that awfully cheap for 51 state of the art devices with spares?  What's the gov't contract price on this stuff?  

If the sqd that flies the Prez around has the latest and greatest stuff, we're talking at least 13K for commercial retail price of a -31alpha.  You can't even buy gen II+ -14's at that price.

Just gen III -14's would be over 150K.  State of the art BNVD's would be in excess of 650K.  

Does it sound right that the government price on BNVD's would be lower than Gen II MNVD's?

And how could this sqdn not know that it had 51 units missing?  Over a two year period?  Something smells fishy here.  When I was in we had regular audits on all that shit.  No way you could have hidden something like that for so long.  They had to have known there was an issue and should have done something about it before that many were missing.   WTF???

Maybe that figure is bullshit to keep the sentence down under 10 years per the plea bargain.  

Maybe this was part of the "Fast and Furious" operation.  Funnel NV gear to the cartel and use that as an excuse to ban them from us.  

Dudes defense attorneys cost him at least $100K, not to mention he'll be paying restitution while in the klink.

Seems like he'll be in the "dark" for quite a while.

NCIS be knockin on some Fleabay buyers doors...

How did the guy get access to the NV?

Just the tubes.

not the whole unit

i'd say just under 2000 each is a good price

All this writing, all this speculation, if only you had taken the time to read the short five paragraph article.

No self-respecting Arfcom member would purchase something like that off Flea Bay and reveal that NCIS came to their doorsteps to confiscate said gear.

The press release provides an incorrect case number.  The correct case number is 1:17-cr-00091-LMB.

He didn't plead "down" to 10 years.  10 years is the statutory maximum for this crime under Title 18, USC § 641.  The maximum penalties for this offense are: a maximum term of 10 years of imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, full restitution, a $100 special assessment, and three years of supervised release.

Sentencing is set for 8/11/2017 at 09:00 AM in Alexandria Courtroom 600 before District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.

I also heard rumors of a bunch of stolen PVS-15's that are out there floating around. Any truth or more stories behind that?

This story stinks to high heaven.  And yes I read both fucking articles there sparky.

You guys are having way too much fun pointing out that anyone who buys shit on eBay is probably buying stolen goods, or at least that's your insinuation.  In this case it was half-true.  The articles stated that he found potential buyers there and then contacted them off-line in private emails.

What these articles are really pointing out is: a) the government gets incredible deals on NV equipment, as compared to what us slimy civilians have to pay, b) the Marine Corps has gone to shit since my time, c) the government made a helluva plea bargain this this guy.

This whole thing stinks on ice.  You guys are using it as an example to ridicule anyone who buys NV gear on eBay, or wherever.  OK fair enough have your laughs.  

But:

a) How in the fuck did the government get 51 fucking devices for under 100K?  Seriously?  Are we paying that much more than them?  If so that really sucks dog balls and if I sold this stuff for a living I wouldn't be pointing this article out.

b) In the immortal words of the "Gunny":  "You have got to be kidding me...Do you seriously want me to believe that you dipshits lost 51 fucking night vision devices over the course of two years and nobody figured out anything was missing?"  

c) Who the fuck knows on this one.  

The NV could be anything really.  Not just limited to ANVIS shit.  The article stated the sqdn also did testing for the Crotch, so it could have been any end use.  I just want to know who was responsible for that shit?  Who inventoried it, at what intervals?  Was their no outside oversight, like an IG or what?  That's pretty fucking sad shit right there.   The guys who stole this shit and tried to sell it are crooks.  But what about the piss-poor security this stuff gets that it gets stolen in the first place?  Does the government get a free pass?  It sounds like my lawn tools get better security than government property.

I say we send in the Gunny and get this sit un-fucked.

While Bam was in, Marines used only ATN.  

Oh shit.

Happens all the time on EBay.

Too bad they wouldn't release the serial numbers for the tubes so we could blacklist them all.

Dude was active duty Marine Sargent during the time of the thefts and sold them on EBay and collected via PayPal, has to pay $94,000 in restitution. Life is good behind bars....


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4537700/Man-admits-stealing-100K-equipment-Marine-One.html

It's cool, nobody will notice 51 NVG missing from a high security unit.

2013-2015?

Any knockin that needed done, should've been long over by now (2 years later)... Wu must be slowing down with age.

I have probably mumbled this to myself 20 times over the past few years. There was even the incident with the refurb holosights from the big retailer that the manufacturer called stolen. I understand that the best security against this is to buy new from an authorized dealer but does that mean that my used unit should have zero value for resale once I get my hands on it because I'm not an authorized reseller? There is more to this issue than "eBay sucks".

A blacklist of stolen parts would be a huge step in the right direction. I don't think it will ever happen because our government does not really care if we little guys get burned. They probably want to be able to let the things trickle all over the place so they can widen the net.

"We cannot divulge that information because it is part of an ongoing investigation."

I am glad you aren't the only legit game in town for quality NV gear.

^ this

Guys this shouldn't be a rant fest against a certain dealer just because they voiced their opinion on this, even if I don't agree with it.  I happen to think they are a reputable dealer and I have bought lots of stuff from them over the years.  What I have said is I don't agree with their low opinion of sales at ebay or other private party stuff.  Yes, some of it is shady but I don't think you can paint with such a board brush to characterize all private sales as such.  So this is not a question of their integrity, rather their judgement in making certain statements.

The whole point for me is that this goat fuck even occurred.  They are using it as an example of why you shouldn't buy from private parties.  I'm saying it illustrates some glaring problems in our government and their stewardship of some expensive shit we bough them.  

You are free to buy from whomever you want.  However, be aware that there IS stolen property floating around out there.  It's not every case, but it is some cases.  As usual, the truth is somewhere in between.

There is also a lot of used gear floating around from vendors by the customers that purchased it and now want to upgrade, or had change of life events come up and they now need to sell that gear. I agree that painting with such a broad stroke is a horrible idea.

FWIW, I personally had a set of TNVC "hand select" tubes with spec sheets that were pulled from a pair of TNVC Sentinels after they were left on pointing at a bright light source and were subsequently "blemished". Many vendors also take trade-ins, and that gear floats around on the used market - all of it from legit chains of ownership. People upgrade - it happens all the time.

Since many of these people buy cheap/used the first time only to later learn to appreciate that vendor relationship, it would be beneficial if vendors offered advice on how to spot stolen tubes/gear and how to properly report on it, rather than ridicule the unsuspecting buyer.

THE NORTH WIND AND THE SUN (Aesop for Children, 1919)
http://mythfolklore.net/aesopica/milowinter/141.htm

Seriously though, how were 51 devices only 94k?

I gotta chuckle at that.  My bud who I passed my first set onto did the same thing.  Left the tube on and burned a nice image into it.  A nice tableau of: "kitchen window, in still life".  

Well you know, SOT makes a good point.  If someone would set up a voluntary s/n network, it would go a long way to helping to ID stolen shit.  Why the government wouldn't quietly circulate this to qualified vendors, and give us access to it, who knows.  

I'll give you a good guess.  The motherfuckers probably don't have half the right numbers, just like weapons databases.  

Bottom line, take this kind of news for what it's worth.  Some guys here obviously tried to make a point that all ebay sales are dubious at best.   Some other guys that don't like those guys tried to use this as an opportunity to pile on any criticism of them.  And then there's some that are just trying to look at this report and see what we can actually learn from it.  

Like seriously, 51 tubes plus spares for under 100K?  Like a crooked Marine who tried to steal government property and why he got as far as he did?  Like all the people who take these events and try to use them for their agenda?  Skippidy dippidy doo-da.

I completely understand TNVC's position.  Of all the military gear out there, NV is probably the most tantalizing for military deadbeats to steal and resell.  Given TNVC's significant military/LEO background, I'm going to trust that they have first-hand accounts of the amount of YOUR tax dollars that are lost on eBay-sold illicit tubes.  Caveat emptor.

I'm lost on why people get greedy on this.


I mean..come on.....once or twice....

nobody would bat an eye or see what is happening...

but that many times...


You are bound to get caught just like a bank robber is bound to get caught also.

Please enlighten us to this agenda  

Government employees have been stealing items for as long as I can remember. I have seen it done by enlisted military, officers and civilians are the worst! I actually testified at an officer's court martial once. When he was found guilty, he was forced to retire. How is that right? He stole tens of thousands worth of government property, used enlisted personnel for his personal gain, and then got to steal his pension from the taxpayers! Only God knows how much he stole before he got caught!

You could cut the federal budget in half if you eliminate the theft and abuse in our government!

Meanwhile, in the hints n allegations dept, I was just thinking about this shit over lunch.  I came to the conclusion that there's just no fucking way this dude could've gotten away with this shit so long. Me thinks he wuz caught, somewhere around tube nine or ten, and/or month 2 or 3 and had a nice come to jesus chat with some nice NCIS agents.  I imagine it went something like this.  You keep selling this stuff, only you give us the names and addresses of the buyers.  Then we get a big sting operation with promotions and raises all around.  And you get a reduced sentence and quietly fade into the background.  It's either that or the feds have their heads so far up their asses they need a glass belly button to see.  I would certainly hope it is the former, but alas, would not be surprised if it was the latter.  Like do you want to see my surprise face?  

People say the same thing about crack.

I don't know the details about this case, but what I would bet happened is the person in question worked at the third echelon maintenance shop (maybe the RIP). The broken NVGs, or those needing servicing were sent to his shop for repair. An image tube is seen in the system as a repair part, you order another and DRMO the broken one. I would bet he never sent the "bad" tubes (or tubes he said were bad to steal) to DRMO and ether forged paperwork or never did it. Someone finally checked his paperwork and found the problem (or NCIS backtracked from point of sale to him, not by tube S/N, but by volume probably). Replacing an entire system is a big deal, as the device is tracked by S/N on the CMR (property records for you Army types), I'd have to check with a lens-licker (optics tech) but I don't believe image tubes are.

In the last few years all of the paperwork has become electronic and this sort of scam is harder to pull. They are also starting to associate the serial numbers of component parts to the major end-item and requiring levels of documentation to change those parts that are tracked by end item. It's a huge pain in the butt for mechanics but, you can see why we are moving in that direction.

Ok that would make a hell of a lot more sense than what we've been working with.  If the tube itself was treated as a replacement part, albeit an very expensive one, then the accountability as a serialized item might be in question.  It would not have the end-item serial number that would be a lot higher profile.  Yeah the glitch might have been in the accountability of "damaged" or non-working parts that are assumed to be near worthless.  Probably would have had a near zero profile with any inventorying authority.  Or hell any real enterprising thief might attempt to substitute worthless tubes he bought for next to nothing.  Who knows.

Just Google "ATN Thermal Pawnshop"

Google pulls up JJ's Pawn Shop? I don't get it. ?

I think the reference is to the pawn shops that line Bragg Blvd and other Army/Navy towns. It's funny but what-ever.

HIGH SECURITY UNIT!@!!

Pretty sure HMX-1 had the same NVGs every other aviation unit did/does.  AN/AVS-9s.  Dual tube units nothing too fancy.  Gen 3.  I was a flight equipment guy in the Marine Corps (6048).  While there is some security surrounding NVGs it's not like they are Top Secret documents.  For us they had to be locked in their own cabinet in the locked shop and were inventoried quarterly and checked out in a "Green monster" bound book.  Wouldn't be too hard to get away with a few sets here and there.  If they go missing some paperwork gets filed and naval message gets written up and released saying "hey entire Department of the Navy, look out ofr these NVGs that have been lost."  

If you work at MALS/AIMD in the Avionics division you have access to the actual bits and pieces of the goggles which is where I"m guessing this guy worked.  They can order the parts and little bits and pieces that are needed to build/repair goggles.

Just Google "FLIR Thermal Pawnshop"

Now your talkin' !


I knew you'd take my advice and get ya a nice 'dillo buster.

51 missing over a course of two years.  So what was the supply chief? doing?  Do you not do inventory checks and have hand receipts for units issued to specific people.  Unless home boy was the supply chief.

See jeepinbanditrider's comment above.  Probably as close to it as anything else.