Guilty pleas over US$ 2.6 million metal theft

USA – Three men – Thomas Jefferson, James Robinson and Alan Verschleisser – have pleaded guilty to charges in connection with a scheme to steal imported metal worth US$ 2.6 million from the Port of Baltimore in the USA. Sentencing is expected in April.

It was back in 2010 that Mr Jefferson began to steal aluminium from a Baltimore warehouse after having cut a hole in a fence surrounding the lot, according to prosecutors. Mr Verschleisser, who owned a salvage yard, contacted another Baltimore scrap metal dealer who agreed to buy the metal at a below-market price. In September 2010, prosecutors claim, Mr Jefferson, Mr Verschleisser and two other men stole several shipping containers. Again, Mr Verschleisser tried to sell the stolen metal – on this occasion, nickel – but a prospective buyer informed the official owner who alerted the police.