Westmoreland fireworks sales ringleader gets four years in prison
The ringleader of a group of Mt. Pleasant-area men who sold illegal fireworks for decades was sentenced by a federal judge on Wednesday to serve more than four years in prison despite pleas for leniency from family and friends.
James E. McCloy, 61, of Bridgeport, Mt. Pleasant Township, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab to serve four years and three months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. McCloy pleaded guilty in June to conspiracy, two counts of transporting explosives without a license and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in connection with a 2008 raid at his home.
Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms allege that McCloy led a group that brought in truckloads of fireworks to the state and resold them, according to federal agents.
In addition to fireworks, they dealt in flash powder and M-80s and M-200s, which are illegal and classified as explosives under federal law, agents said.
The four men operated a fireworks business from 2003 through 2008, when ATF agents raided McCloy's home and confiscated trailers filled with explosives and thousands of cases of fireworks, authorities said. They also found 10 pistols and rifles at the home, according to records.
James McCloy's brother, Howard F. McCloy, 64, had been sentenced to serve 15 months, while his son, Howard "Tubs" McCloy Jr., 22, and Fred Collins, 62, were sentenced to probation.
Before Schwab delivered the sentence, he received letters asking for leniency from several McCloy relatives and area residents, court records show.
Retired Mt. Pleasant Area School District administrator Linda M. Vecchio told the judge she has known McCloy for more than 30 years. She described him as "a true friend and person who is there to help anyone in any way he can. I have had numerous experiences with Jimmy, whether I needed a favor or had a problem to be solved, I knew I could always count on him," she wrote.
In court filings, McCloy's attorney, William McCabe, contended that fireworks, legal and illegal, are part of American culture.
"This case involves the seasonal sale of such display fireworks by Mr. McCloy, solely in connection with the celebration of the Fourth of July holiday, and unfortunately without possessing a federal explosive license. Mr. McCloy has had a lifelong fascination with fireworks in connection with celebrating the Fourth of July holiday," McCabe told the court.
Federal officials described the McCloys' illegal fireworks operation as expansive. The men sold shipments of up to 100 cases at a time in Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland, sometimes earning as much as $3,000 per transaction, according to the indictment.
When agents conducted a raid on June 19, 2008, on Howard McCloy's property, also in Bridgeport, they found 13,000 explosive devices in trailers.