Home Kansas City Press Releases 2009 Mechanic Indicted on Charges of Selling Stolen Aircraft Parts
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Mechanic Indicted on Charges of Selling Stolen Aircraft Parts

U.S. Attorney’s Office January 06, 2009
  • District of Kansas (316) 269-6481

WICHITA, KS—Diego Alejandro Paz Teran, 31, Wichita, Kan., is charged with one count of selling stolen aircraft parts. The crime is alleged to have occurred from August 2008 through Jan. 30, 2009, in Sedgwick County, Kan.

Teran, an airframe and power plant mechanic at Cessna Aircraft Company, initially was charged Jan. 30, 2009, in a federal criminal complaint alleging he stole aircraft parts from Cessna and sold them on eBay. According to an investigator's affidavit, the investigation began in November 2008 when an employee of a Rockwell Collins Company distributor saw a Collins AHC-3000 Attitude Reference Computer offered for sale on eBay for $9,000. Knowing that the part was valued at more than $45,000, he contacted the seller and asked for serial numbers. Cessna tracked the serial numbers to a part that was removed from an XLS Plus aircraft that was being painted.

Investigators found other stolen aircraft parts being sold on the same eBay account and followed records on the account to Teran at his home in Wichita.

If convicted, Teran faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,0000. The U.S. Department of Transportation - Office of Inspector General, the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation worked on the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Treaster is prosecuting.

OTHER INDICTMENTS

A federal grand jury meeting in Wichita, Kan., also returned the following indictments:

Sergio Castro, 52, Tuscon, Ariz., is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine. The crime is alleged to have occurred Jan. 27, 2009, in Trego County, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a penalty of not less than 10 years and not more than life in federal prison and a fine up to $4 million. The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Treaster is prosecuting.

Gonzalo Lira, Jr., 30, Wichita, Kan., is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. The crime is alleged to have occurred Jan. 29, 2009, in Sedgwick County, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a penalty of not less than 5 years and not more than 40 years and a fine up to $2 million. The Wichita Police Department investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch is prosecuting.

As in any criminal case, a person is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments filed merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.

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