Alaska police hit air cargo theft ring
     ANCHORAGE, Alaska (July 27, 1997 00:39 a.m. EDT) -- A half-dozen
 Alaska Airlines cargo handlers working at the Anchorage airport have
 been arrested in a nearly 2-year-old theft ring that fenced thousand
 of dollars in computers, stereos and other electronic equipment en
 route to Alaska businesses.
     Last week a federal grand jury indicted two brothers Brian
 Bradley Johnson, 28, and Heath Bradley Johnson, 20 on suspicion
 of theft from interstate shipments and possession of stolen
 property.
     That indictment was sealed while informants helped authorities
 arrest four other cargo handlers late Thursday.  They are Adrian
 Kelvin Thomas, 26; Paul John Kesely, 26; Aaron Royce Hill, 22; and
 Randolph Enrico Davila, 20. The men were arrested on charges of
 conspiring to commit theft from interstate shipments.
     All of the suspects have pleaded not guilty.  All but Thomas
 were released on $5,000 bonds pending an Aug. 4 court appearance.
     The airline has employed the six for periods of two to eight
 years. Five have been suspended without pay, or what the company
 calls "withheld from service," airline spokesman Lou Cancelmi said.
 One of the employees was fired earlier over an unrelated incident.
     The operation began to unravel when a co-worker of the alleged
 ringleader went to Alaska Airlines management to report what was
 going on, assistant U.S. attorney Dan Cooper said. The airline
 contacted the FBI. Cooper said the investigation continues.
     "We observed a pattern and knew we had a problem," Cancelmi
 said. "We went to authorities."
     Cancelmi said the airline has extensive records of what ship-
 ments were missing over the years but has not determined the value
 of what was stolen.
     The thefts started in December 1995 and continued through May,
 according to the arrest affidavit.  The stolen goods included
 computers, video cameras and stereo equipment.  The goods were
 destined for government offices and private businesses, including
 a bed and breakfast in Valdez, the state Division of Public Assis-
 tance in Juneau and Sitka, and the Federal Aviation Administration.
 They had been shipped to Alaska via package services, such as
 Airborne Express, which contracts with the airlines.
     Brian Johnson, an eight-year employee, was a cargo ramp super-
 visor and the worker who started the theft operation, the indict-
 ment alleges. He reportedly recruited others, including his brother,
 to help him.
     The workers used the airline's computer system to figure out
 what cargo was coming through, or they would drive around to see
 what was in it, the indictment alleges. They would steal the items,
 hide them on the premises and sneak back later to retrieve them,
 according to the court records.
     Johnson shipped some of the stolen goods to California, accord-
 ing to the court documents.  Some were stashed in a storage shed
 near an airplane Kesely owned, and others were taken to various
 conspirators' homes. The stolen property was sold through advertise-
 ments in newspapers or through friends and acquaintances, according
 to court documents. Whoever participated in any particular theft
 would share the proceeds from the sale, one of the informants told
 investigators.
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