Ex-Customs Agents Gets 2 Years in Weapons Theft
A former U.S. Customs agent was sentenced to two years in federal prison Monday for stealing more than 40 weapons from the agency.
Salvator Oddo, 46, of Laguna Niguel, was given the maximum penalty called for under federal sentencing guidelines.
“The government takes very seriously any misconduct by law enforcement officers,” Assistant U.S. Atty. Jeffrey Rawitz said after the sentencing.
Oddo pleaded guilty last October to the theft of government property. Under a deal with the government, he was charged with stealing a Berreta 9-millimeter semiautomatic handgun and a Colt .45 pistol, both of which were illegally imported.
But the former agent admitted stealing more than 40 guns, including three automatic weapons, Rawitz said.
The prosecutor said the weapons had been seized in criminal cases and were supposed to be sent to Ft. Benning, Ga., to be destroyed. Oddo, a gun collector, kept the weapons at his home.
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