The Region : Man Convicted in Theft of Cigarettes

A 54-year-old Pico Rivera man was convicted by a Los Angeles federal court jury on charges of conspiracy and possession of more than 60,000 cartons of untaxed stolen cigarettes, valued at about $1 million. Assistant U.S. Atty. David A. Katz said that trial evidence showed that Tony Carreon and Eugene Edward Seal, 57, of Lakewood--still a fugitive--were central figures in the theft of a truckload of cigarettes being shipped from Georgia to Ohio in late 1983. The cigarettes were brought to Los Angeles and sold from a Compton warehouse and a Long Beach candy store for as little as $1 per carton, Katz said.