'Easy money' made selling Army weapons stolen by US soldiers

Kristin M. Hall, Associated Press
 Updated 2:18 pm, Wednesday, August 30, 2017


NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — More than $1 million in weapons parts and sensitive military equipment was stolen out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and sold in a vast black market, some of it to foreign buyers through eBay, according to testimony at a federal trial this week.

The equipment — some of it re-sold to buyers in Russia, China, Mexico, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan and Ukraine — included machine gun and rifle parts, body armor, helmets, gun sights, generators, medical equipment and more.

John Roberts, of Clarksville, Tennessee, was being tried Wednesday in Nashville on charges of wire fraud, conspiracy to steal and sell government property, and violating the Arms Export Control Act. Six soldiers and his civilian business partner made plea deals in exchange for their testimony.
 
That former business partner, Cory Wilson, testified that they would find soldiers selling military items through classified ads or on Facebook, and then ask them for more expensive and harder-to-find items. It was "fast easy money," Wilson said.

More:
http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Federal-trial-details-black-market-for-military-12161494.php