Suspect Accused Of Selling First Responder Equipment To Highest Bidder On eBay
WEST CHESTER, Pa. (CBS) -- A supplier of first responder equipment is facing serious charges in Chester County.
Prosecutors say instead of selling the equipment to police, he sold them to the highest bidder online.
Thomas Wessells, a former corporate executive with a Chester County Police and Fire Supply Store, is now accused of stealing more than $195,000 worth of products from the business, then selling the items on eBay and pocketing the profits for himself.
District Attorney Tom Hogan says more than 2,000 items, including rifle scopes, were stolen and resold.
Those items, Hogan told CBS 3's Walt Hunter, were intended solely for First Responders and the fact that they were resold to the highest bidders on eBay was, in his words,"a real concern."
Fortunately, Hogan explained, all of the items traced so far wound up in the hands of legitimate buyers.
"The defendant was robbing the company blind," Hogan stated.
The alleged illegal sales, stretching over 8 years from 2006 to 2014, came to light, the DA says, after Wessells was fired from his job for viewing pornography on his company computer.
The suspect, who surrendered with his attorney at the Chester County Courthouse, is now free after signing his own $25,000 bail.
His attorney said, beyond pleading 'not guilty', he will have no additional comment.
