RALEIGH - United States Attorney George E. B. Holding announced thata federal Grand Jury returned a Criminal Indictment on February 6, 2008, charging JOSEPH CHARLES FALCO, 34, of Collegeville, Pennsylvania; FORREST DALE PORTER, 57, of Boomer, North Carolina; BRIAN TIMOTHY VIKSNE, 28, of Collegeville, Pennsylvania; TIMOTHY WAYNE ROBERTS, 43, of Franklinton, North Carolina; and BRANDON KEITH HARRIS, 22, of Franklinton, North Carolina, charging them with conspiracy to transport stolen merchandise of value of $5,000 or more and aiding and abetting.

Beginning in late fall of 2006, until June, 2007, PORTER ordered and purchased stolen over-the-counter pharmacy products, health and beauty aids, and other products valued in excess of $5,000, from a source in Franklinton, North Carolina, where ROBERTS and HARRIS delivered the goods to Boomer, North Carolina, where the products were sold and transferred to FALCO and VIKSNE. FALCO and VIKSNE then transported and transferred the stolen products out of North Carolina to Pennsylvania.

“Retail theft victimizes not only the businesses from which the product is stolen, but also consumers who have to pay higher prices to cover the costs of stolen products. Accordingly, my office, therefore, will vigorously pursue convictions for these types of crimes,” vowed George Holding, United States Attorney.

If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum of 5 years imprisonment, 3 years supervised release, and may have a maximum fine of $250,000 imposed.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

Investigation of the case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Thom B. Murphy served as prosecutor for the government.