'Ringleader' charged in theft of $300,000 worth of silver
Investigators couldn't pin a theft of millions of dollars of silver on William Michael Degrange.
He was suspected but not charged in 2008 when three others were arrested for smuggling hockey-puck-sized scrap silver over two years from a Murrysville company where they worked.
The 55-year-old Irwin man is facing charges from that heist as well as the April 2011 theft of about $300,000 in silver from the facility.
"He was basically the ringleader," Westmoreland County Detective Thomas Horan said.
Degrange and five others, including his wife of two years, were charged on March 7 with the 2011 theft from Metalor Technologies. Arraigned this week were Bobbie Jean Dickson, 47, of Irwin; Colin Carr Fulciniti, 22, of Pittsburgh's Shadyside neighborhood; Brian John Flaherty, 55, of Penn Hills, and his son, Bryon Jon Flaherty, 38, of Penn Hills; and George M. Viglione, 56, of Monroeville.
Murrysville police and county detectives said Degrange broke into Metalor Technologies, placed a T-shirt over a security camera and stole 429 pounds of silver pellets in April 2011.
Horan said authorities aren't concerned with Degrange getting away -- he is incarcerated in SCI-Pittsburgh on a parole violation from a 1980s Washington County case.
Degrange was employed by the former AMI DODUCO in Murrysville at the time of the thefts, Horan said. His employment ended in 2009, and the company was bought by Metalor Technologies. The facility produces electrical contact equipment from silver.
In the 2008 case, police charged husband and wife Pamela Shermenti, 55, and William Shermenti, 59, of Loyalhanna Township and Ryan Doak, 29, of Saltsburg. The three pleaded no contest to accusations that they stole more than $2 million in silver from AMI DODUCO over two years by smuggling out scraps in their lunch boxes. All three served jail terms.
According to a civil lawsuit filed by AMI DODUCO against various scrap dealers, the three used false names to make 100 sales. The suit states that $3.4 million of silver was stolen.
They sold some of the silver to a Tarentum dealer for about $600,000, police said.
By summer 2009, Degrange had sold $30,000 worth of silver to James Diamond National Jewelry Manufacturing Co. in Mt. Pocono, according to court documents. He cashed in $80,000 more between June 2010 and April 21, 2011, police said.
The Metalor theft occurred between April 20 and 25, 2011. Police allege that Degrange buried a portion of the silver pellets in three jugs in a South Huntingdon field. The other four men charged rented a metal detector, dug up the jugs and some allegedly began to sell the silver.
Murrysville police and county detectives issued an alert that eventually led them to Southside Jewelers. Pittsburgh police records showed that on Oct. 27 and 31, Bryon Flaherty and Fulciniti sold silver pellets there, netting about $7,700.
Store manager Tracey Muller said on Friday that employees didn't question the quantity because the men said the silver was found at their grandfather's house. The silver was sold to a refinery, she said.
Pittsburgh police Sgt. Kevin Gasiorowski said the city has ordinances governing businesses such as Southside Jewelers, which is considered a secondhand dealer. All transactions must be reported to police, who enter the information into a searchable database, which aided in tipping off local authorities.
Muller and Gasiorowski said it is better for stores to purchase stolen goods.
"They say (to) buy it, because that's a sure way of getting (the suspect)," Muller said.
State law requires precious metals dealers to register with the county sheriff and send records of every sale to state police or the district attorney. Dealers must maintain detailed records of transactions, including a photo identification of the seller, serial numbers and any other identifying marks.
"I met recently with the county sheriff to make certain the law was being complied with," said Westmoreland District Attorney John Peck. "Many aren't reporting."
At 11 a.m. Dec. 15, Bryon Flaherty again visited Southside Jewelers, carrying a blue and white lunch cooler about half filled with silver pellets. By that time, the suspects were on police radar. Muller told Flaherty she would take a sample of the silver and clear the purchase with her boss.
After Bryon Flaherty left, detectives arrived and verified the silver. A sting was set up for the following afternoon.
When Flaherty arrived with the cooler, authorities were waiting. A bucket containing 40 pounds of silver was found at his home, police said.
Flaherty led investigators to Fulciniti, who said he, Viglione and both Flahertys used a metal detector to locate the silver. The group found two full jugs and a third that was about half full of silver. The find was divided into thirds with Fulciniti left out. Police said he later helped Bryon Flaherty sell some silver and pocketed some of the proceeds.
Police were led to the Adele Drive home of Degrange and Bobbie Jean Dickson, who was uncooperative, according to court documents. Investigators seized a small amount of silver from the trunk of a car parked at their home.
Court documents do not indicate how investigators traced six sales to James Diamond National Jewelry Manufacturing Co. in Mt. Pocono. Diamond told police that Degrange claimed he had a business that deals with silver and wanted to sell some scrap.
Degrange has a criminal history that led him to at least one co-defendant -- Viglione. The men spent time together in Western Penitentiary. Horan said Brian Flaherty was an inmate during the same time.
Degrange was arrested in 1986 in Washington County for robbery, theft and simple assault. He was convicted and sentenced to 20 months in prison. In 1987, he and three other inmates in the Washington County jail were accused of setting a fire in their cellblock. He was charged with arson.
Viglione has a criminal history dating to 1979 that includes robbery, burglary, receiving stolen property, criminal conspiracy, fraud and retail theft.
