Webster Man Sentenced for Role in Theft Scheme

MADISON, WI—John W. Vaudreuil, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Eric E. Garvey, 40, Webster, Wis., was sentenced Friday, Sept. 9, by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 90 months in prison without parole, followed by three years of supervised release, for transporting stolen tractors between Minnesota and Wisconsin. Garvey was found guilty of six charges on July 15, 2011, after a three-day trial in federal district court in Madison.

Garvey was originally indicted on July 22, 2010, along with Chad Allen Wyttenbach, 35, Somerset, Wis., and Victor Ernest Trejo, 51, Prescott, Wis., in a 10-count indictment charging the defendants with conspiracy, interstate transportation of stolen vehicles, interstate sale of stolen vehicles, interstate transportation of stolen goods, possessing stolen goods, and possessing stolen motor vehicles. On May 22, 2011, a federal grand jury sitting in Madison returned a superseding indictment against Garvey arising from the same conduct, but eliminating the charges relating to the possession of stolen vehicles and goods.

On January 28, 2011, Trejo pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a stolen vehicle that had been transported in interstate commerce, and agreed to cooperate with the government in its case against Garvey. On February 17, 2011, Wyttenbach pleaded guilty to the interstate sale of stolen vehicles, and also agreed to provide testimony against Garvey. On April 21, 2011, U.S. District Judge William M. Conley sentenced Trejo to three years’ probation and ordered him to pay restitution of $93,777.00, jointly with the co-defendants. On September 1, 2011, Judge Conley sentenced Wyttenbach to six months in prison, without the possibility of parole.

Judge Conley previously sentenced Garvey on May 22, 2011, to 42 months in prison for the distribution of methamphetamine. Garvey was found guilty of four charges of distributing methamphetamine, after a two-day trial in federal court in Madison in February 2011.

The charges against Garvey were the result of an investigation conducted by the Sheriffs’ Departments of Burnett County, Barron County, Dunn County, St. Croix County, Chippewa County, and Polk County, as well as Ramsey County, Minnesota; New Richmond, Webb Lake, and Cameron Police Departments; and Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution of the case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter M. Jarosz and Antonio Trillo.