Oceanside

Five former Camp Pendleton Marines were sentenced by a federal judge Monday to one to six years in prison and ordered to pay $20,000 in fines for selling stolen military gear worth more than $112,000 to a government undercover surplus store in Oceanside.

Each of the defendants, five of seven named in a 101-count indictment in November charging them with conspiracy and unauthorized sale of government property, pleaded guilty to one count.

U.S. District Judge Howard Turrentine said sentencing was “difficult because their degree of involvement was varied,” but added that each one had breached “positions of confidence and trust that (military) security is based on.”

Former Sgt. James A. Chaffin, 27, of Memphis, Tenn., was sentenced to six years in federal prison and fined $10,000 for the sale of $52,200 worth of stolen gear in 45 transactions between Aug. 24, 1983, and March 7, 1984.

Dana Hollingsworth, 26, Shreveport, La., is the former First Tank Battalion sergeant who first introduced Chaffin to Golden State Surplus, a bogus Oceanside surplus store set up by the FBI in an undercover “sting” operation. Hollingsworth was sentenced by Turrentine last week to four years in prison for also pleading guilty to one count of selling government property.

Also sentenced were:

- David Flores, 25, Sacramento, to five years in prison and a fine of $7,000 for selling gear worth $31,879 to undercover FBI agents in 34 transactions between Oct. 27, 1983, and Sept. 13, 1984.

- Rodney Smith, 26, Omaha, Neb., to 2 1/2 years in prison and a fine of $1,500 for selling $16,414 worth of equipment in 15 dealings for $5,860, an amount Smith’s attorney disputed, saying it was less than $2,000.

- Rubin Rios, 31, San Antonio, Tex., to two years in prison and a fine of $500 for selling goods worth $7,904 on 12 occasions, receiving $2,481 for it.

- Albert Green, 22, of Memphis to 366 days in prison and a fine of $1,000 for selling $4,125 worth of equipment in his only transaction at GSS. which occurred several days before he was to be discharged. Green received $976 for the equipment.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Pam Naughton said afterward that these five were among the last of 66 ex-Marines indicted in Operation Rip-Stop to be sentenced.

The undercover operation was part of a joint effort by the FBI and Naval Investigative Services to combat the theft and sale of an estimated $4 million worth of military gear.

The “782 gear,” as it’s known in the Marines--individually issued field equipment like packs, gas masks, flak jackets, cartridge belts and rations--is sold to surplus dealers in Southern California and elsewhere at 10% to 20% of its value, with much of it ending up in foreign countries.

Naughton said the operation now is focusing on buyers of the stolen goods. Five surplus dealers in the area already have been indicted, she said.