UMass-eBay case resolved
by Dan O'Brien, Collegian Staff
January 29, 2004
A former University of Massachusetts employee admitted to a judge in Hampshire Superior Court on Dec. 20 that he stole thousands of dollars worth of UMass laboratory equipment and then resold the items on the Internet.
Daniel Hunt, 39, of 197 River Road in Whatley pleaded guilty to 10 counts of receiving stolen property, 10 counts of breaking and entering in the daytime to commit a felony, 11 counts of larceny from a building and one count of breaking and entering in the nighttime to commit a felony.
Hunt worked at the University for 19 years as a fire safety officer and asbestos abatement expert for the Physical Plant before his arrest. He had keys to many campus buildings.
After an eight-month investigation, the University of Massachusetts Police Department suspected that the stolen items were being resold online. The UMPD got their big break on March 28, when a rare piece of equipment that was reported missing appeared the next day on eBay.com, an online auction website. Working with eBay's fraud unit, police identified Hunt as their suspect.
Police said the total amount of Hunt's thefts could be over $100,000, and the dollar amount of items he sold on eBay.com could total more than $50,000. According to court papers, one sale alone netted $21,432.
A police search of his home on April 11 turned up no equipment; however, his computer hard drive was confiscated.
UMPD began receiving reports of stolen science equipment in August 2002. Some of the equipment that was reported missing included camera lenses, a micrometer, microscopes, calipers and scales. The missing equipment was stolen from several labs, including those at the Graduate Research Center, Morrill Science Center, Hasbrouck Lab, Chenoweth Lab and the Goodell building.
Ron Grosslein, an engineer for the physics department, was one out of a group of people in the department who discovered a missing item on eBay.com.
"I was saddened to find someone ripping off our equipment and affecting our research, but more so that it was a UMass employee," Grosslein said.
He pointed out that a large number of UMass employees, including professors, custodians and emergency officials, have master keys to a number of buildings.
"I'm pleased to be part of an organization where this [type of theft] is rare," he said.
Neil Erickson, research professor in the astronomy department said that the majority of the items stolen from his department were microscope lenses. He mentioned that the way in which the items were stolen made it difficult for people working in his department to notice that they were missing.
"We didn't notice the thefts right away because people swap [the microscope lenses] all the time," he said.
John Machta, head of the physics department, said that the equipment stolen from the physics department was worth about $20,000. Machta also said that the thefts set back student projects.
"It took about two weeks to get the equipment replaced," he said. "Five graduate students were unable to pursue their theses during this period."
He said that the guilty plea has allowed his staff and students in his department to begin to somewhat let their guards down.
"Before he was caught it was pretty intense because we didn't know who did it. It was definitely a damper on morale," he said.
Hunt's sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 4. Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Joseph Quinlan is asking that Hunt serve two and a half years behind bars at the Hampshire Jail and House of Correction and five years of probation upon his release.
Hunt's lawyer, C. Jeffrey Kinder, is asking that his client serve probation and community service, as well as pay restitution.
BACK TO MAIN PAGE
BACK TO COLLEGIAN STORIES