Syracuse, NY - A former employee of a DeWitt manufacturing firm is facing one year in jail after admitting in court today he stole liquid gold from work. Thomas J. Basile, 54, of 7158 State Route 5, Clinton, pleaded guilty before Onondaga County Judge Joseph Fahey to a reduced felony charge of third-degree grand larceny. He admitted stealing liquid gold...
Syracuse, NY - A former employee of a DeWitt manufacturing firm is facing one year in jail after admitting in court today he stole liquid gold from work.
Thomas J. Basile, 54, of 7158 State Route 5, Clinton, pleaded guilty before Onondaga County Judge Joseph Fahey to a reduced felony charge of third-degree grand larceny.
He admitted stealing liquid gold from Anaren Microwave Inc. from June 2008 through March 2009. The plea deal, calling for Basile to be sentenced to one year in the Onondaga County Correctional Facility in Jamesville, also calls for him to pay back $100,000 in restitution.
Defense lawyer Michael Vavonese told Fahey today Basile has $50,000 of the restitution now and expects to have the remainder soon. Fahey set sentencing for Nov. 15.
Assistant District Attorney Robert Moran said Basile was employed as a manager at Anaren while stealing from the company. The prosecutor said Basile was seen bringing jugs into work in which he brought home the liquid gold solution.
At the time of his arrest last year, Basile told police he was bringing the chemicals home to clean beer and winemaking kits and to experiment toward making a product to enhance metal replacement joints. He denied selling the gold for his own profit.
Anaren officials said surveillance videos and Basile’s identification badge swipes to gain access to secure areas linked the defendant to the thefts.
Moran said Anaren officials believe Basile was stealing for a much longer period of time and got away with more than $100,000 of the liquid gold. That’s the subject of a civil dispute, he said.
Vavonese declined comment on the ongoing civil dispute, but said Basile had been a loyal Anaren employee for years before the incident.
Basile was to plead guilty to a more serious charge of second-degree grand larceny but Fahey notified the lawyers in court today that he could not legally impose a one-year jail sentence for that level of crime. The prosecution then agreed to drop the charge to third-degree grand larceny to allow the one-year jail sentence.