3 Convicted in $13-Million Military Base Theft

MADISON, Wis. —  Three men were convicted Friday of stealing $13 million worth of missile launchers, jeeps and other goods in the largest known theft of equipment from a U.S. military base.

Convicted of conspiracy and conversion of government property were Dennis Lambert, 53, the base’s former range maintenance officer; Loyd Pilgrim, 37, a military surplus dealer; and Grant Kruger, 43, president of the Military Vehicles and Arms Museum in Minnesota.

Military surplus dealers George Pretty and David Butler were acquitted. The jury deliberated about 21 hours.

The men were charged with helping another military surplus dealer, Leo Anthony Piatz, swipe at least 153 vehicles, including armored personnel carriers with TOW missile launchers, from the Army’s Ft. McCoy between September 1994 and June 1996.

No missiles or other weapons were stolen, and none of the equipment was sold to terrorists, prosecutors said. Most of the equipment has been returned to the training base in western Wisconsin, 95 miles northwest of Madison.

Conspiracy carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum sentence for conversion is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled Sept. 10. Kruger and Lambert’s attorney said they will appeal.

Defense attorneys contended during the eight-day trial that their clients were tricked by Piatz and range safety officer Donald Crandall into believing that Piatz had authority to remove the equipment.

Piatz was convicted of 11 counts in March and faces up to 125 years in prison and $2.75 million in fines at sentencing next month.

Crandall pleaded guilty to one count of conversion and agreed to testify against the other six defendants in exchange for dismissal of six other charges against him. He faces sentencing next month.

Government prosecutors said tape-recorded conversations and other testimony show the men knew they were stealing.

Piatz used papers faked by base employees to make his flatbed shipments look legitimate, prosecutors said. He sold most of the equipment to collectors and museums.

Piatz tried to interest 20th Century Fox in leasing military equipment including a missile launcher for the Desert Storm movie “Courage Under Fire,” but the deal fell through, prosecutors said.