5 Sentenced for Roles in Theft of Jet Parts

Members of a San Diego-based ring that stole at least $10 million in sophisticated military parts from the Navy were sentenced Monday to prison terms of one to six years, but the sentences for the masterminds of what prosecutors called the biggest theft ever from the Navy were delayed.

U.S. District Judge Leland Nielsen said the continuing recriminations from President Reagan’s sale of weapons to Iran had no influence on his sentences for five members of the ring, which penetrated the naval supply system to steal sophisticated fighter aircraft equipment for shipment to the Persian Gulf nation.

Defense attorneys for some of the ring members had planned to raise the Administration’s breach of the Iran arms embargo in arguing for lighter terms, but Nielsen made clear during the sentencing hearings that he considered the issue irrelevant.

Instead, the five defendants made more personal pleas for mercy, and prosecutors emphasized the extent of the crimes rather than the fact that their ultimate beneficiary was Iran.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Philip Halpern said that, because of the ring’s thefts, there were 328 instances in the year ended Sept. 30, 1985, when Navy F-14 fighter jets were unable to undertake missions for lack of necessary parts.

Nielsen postponed until today the sentencing of New York businessman Edgardo Agustin. He and his brother Franklin were the ringleaders of the theft and smuggling operation, which began at least as early as 1981 and ended with its members’ indictment in 1985.

Nielsen delayed Franklin Agustin’s sentencing until Dec. 22. According to his attorney, J. William Beard, Franklin Agustin has been hospitalized with a serious lung infection.

Those sentenced Monday are:

- Primitivo Cayabyab, 37, of San Diego. Cayabyab was sentenced to six years in prison on charges of conspiracy, theft of government property and exportation of defense materiel.

Cayabyab protested Monday that the goods he stole “were defective, useless throwaway items” and that their loss “would never subvert the security of the U.S. government.”

Halpern countered that none of the 277 stolen parts traced or recovered by the government--including computers and navigation-related systems--was damaged or inoperable. In pleading guilty, he noted, Cayabyab admitted stealing parts worth about $500,000.

Cayabyab, a Philippine national, was an aviation storekeeper aboard the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. He faces a dishonorable discharge from the Navy and the loss of his legal immigrant status.

- Julie Agustin, 48, of San Diego. Agustin--who is married to Franklin Agustin but apparently not legally divorced from a previous husband, according to prosecutors--was sentenced to five years in prison on charges of theft and interstate transport of stolen goods.

In asking Nielsen to place her on probation, Julie Agustin blamed her loyalty to Franklin Agustin for her involvement in the theft ring. “Perhaps if I had not been a dutiful wife, I would have been more careful of my conduct,” Julie Agustin, a former travel agent, said.

Halpern, however, said her involvement in the scheme was “calculated coldly and collectedly,” and he noted that investigators found that she was involved in ordering, processing and transporting the stolen equipment.

- Daniel G. Wheeler, 38, of Massachusetts. Wheeler--who admitted abusing his former position as a controller at the Naval Air Rework Facility in Norfolk, Va.--was sentenced to two years in prison on charges of conspiracy, theft and exportation of defense materiel.

- Virginia L. Wheeler, 40, of Virginia Beach. She was sentenced to two years in prison on conspiracy and exportation charges. Also a former employee of the Norfolk facility, Virginia Wheeler admitted helping her ex-husband steal more than $500,000 worth of aircraft parts.

- Pedro M. Quito, 61, of San Diego. Quito, the first of the defendants to cooperate with government investigators, was sentenced to serve a year and a day in prison and to pay a $10,000 fine after pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy, theft and exportation of defense materiel.

“I did what I am accused of, and I am very sorry for it,” Quito told Nielsen in a quavering voice. “I regret meeting Frank and Julie Agustin. It was because of that that I am here today.”

Nielsen last week sentenced Antonio G. Rodriguez, a 17-year Navy veteran, to five years in prison for his part in the theft and smuggling. Two others indicted in the conspiracy remain at large--George Agustin, brother of Edgardo and Franklin, who is believed to be in the Philippines, and Saeid Asefi Inanlou, an Iranian national who lives in Great Britain.