Man Pleads Guilty To Stolen Goods Charge

A Meriden man pleaded guilty June 26 in federal court in New Haven to one count of interstate transportation of stolen merchandise arising from his scheme to defraud his employer, Charter Communications of Newtown, by stealing and selling more than $200,000 worth of equipment, according to the US Department of Justice.

Kevin J. O’Connor, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Orlando Nadal, 38, pleaded guilty in court before United States District Judge Janet Bond Arterton.

According to documents filed with the court and statements made in court, Nadal worked for Charter Communications as a regional director of information technology and also as a director of technical services, with responsibilities that included ordering merchandise for Charter Communications.

Nadal admitted that he stole networking and computer equipment from Charter Communications by causing it to be sent to addresses that he controlled in Connecticut and other states, according to Mr O’Connor.

Nadal then sold the equipment to purchasers in Maryland, Arizona, and Oklahoma. Some of the equipment was sold on the Internet on e-Bay.

In total, Nadal stole more than $200,000 worth of Charter Communications equipment and made more than $100,000 selling the equipment between 2004 and 2006, according to the US attorney.

Nadal worked in Charter Communications’ Newtown office until July 2006, when he left the company.

“The prosecution of employees who defraud their employers and sell stolen merchandise over the Internet throughout the United States for personal profit is a serious crime, and we and our federal law enforcement partners will continue to investigate and prosecute these crimes,” Mr O’Connor said. 

Judge Arterton has scheduled sentencing for September 14, at which time Nadal faces a maximum term of imprisonment of ten years and a fine of up to $250,000.

The FBI investigated the case with the assistance of Charter Communications.