Man indicted on government theft charges

A federal grand jury has indicted Samuel Morales, 54, on charges of theft at a government property that he was supposed to be guarding and illegal possession of a weapon. 

 

According to the indictment, Morales was an employee with a company contracted by the Federal protective Service to provide security at a warehouse in Hanover, where property owned by the Social Security Administration was stored. 

 

According to the three counts, on November 21 and 22, Morales was assigned to guard the warehouse from 3:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.  While on duty Morales and others allegedly stole 15 metal cabinets containing microfiche into two pickup trucks and drove away. 

 

Morales later burned the microfiche and sold the cabinets as scrap.  The cost to the SSA of replacing the stolen items exceeded $200,000. 

 

The indictment also alleges that on December 4, 2012, Morales illegally possessed a 12-guage sawed-off shotgun that was not registered to him, not was it identified by a serial number. 

 

Morales faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for the theft and for each of the two gun counts.