Feds charge Army official for theft of military gear
Sniper-rifle scopes worth potentially millions, officials say
An Army official at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah has been charged with stealing military equipment, including scopes for sniper rifles, worth potentially millions of dollars to sell on the black market, according to court documents and government officials.
Phillip Tomac, director of logistics at Dugway, continues to hold his job but is barred from the Army post, said Robert Saxon, an Army spokesman there. Dugway made headlines in 2015 as ground-zero for the military’s bungled handling of anthrax and other deadly toxins. Tomac is paid about $79,000 per year.
Tomac was named in a onecount indictment, alleging that the thefts occurred during a fiveyear period ending just last month. The indictment offered little detail about the alleged theft, but two Defense officials said the gear includes rifle scopes. The officials, who are not authorized to speak publicly about the case while it is under investigation, said the value of the equipment ranged from $500,000 to as much as $6 million.
Tomac, a former Marine, has been director of the Logistics Readiness Center at Dugway since late 2012. He was a Marine for more than 20 years, retiring in 2006 as a warrant officer, according to his résumé on LinkedIn.
The alleged theft of military gear began on June 25, 2012, according to court documents. One Defense official said the case has attracted criminal investigators from the Army, Air Force and FBI. It appeared to crack open during a routine inspection of a barracks when a sergeant found unauthorized gear in the locker of an airman.
Dugway was embroiled in controversy in 2015 when officials found that its high-security labs had been the origin for the inadvertent shipments of live anthrax toxin to labs around the world.