Jose Rodriguez, Chain Saw Theft, New Jersey 2024

TRENTON, N.J. – Amtrak Employee Caught Selling Stolen Chain Saws

A former Amtrak employee from Brick, New Jersey, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for fraudulently obtaining chain saws and parts from his employer and selling them for personal profit.

José Rodriguez, 49, plead guilty to one count of mail fraud on March 21, 2024 before U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi.

According to court documents, Rodriguez was an Amtrak employee since October 2007 and obtained approximately 114 chain saws, 122 chain saw replacement bars, and 222 replacement chains from Amtrak between March 2012 and July 2020. The total value of the stolen equipment was over $76,000.

Rodriguez used the U.S. Postal Service to mail the stolen chain saws and parts to purchasers throughout the United States, including Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Quraishi sentenced Rodriguez to three years of supervised release and ordered $76,379 in restitution and forfeiture of $53,381.

The investigation was led by detectives from Amtrak Police New York Division and Mid-Atlantic Division, under the direction of Chief Sam Dotson, and special agents from Amtrak Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Waters, Eastern Field Office.

The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Leslie Faye Schwartz in the Special Prosecutions Division and Cari Fais, Chief of the Criminal Division’s Opioids Unit.

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