Brick Man Charged With Stealing, Reselling Amtrak Chainsaws: Feds

BRICK, NJ — A longtime Amtrak employee from Brick was arrested Monday night after authorities say he stole chainsaws and chainsaw parts valued at more than $50,000 from the company and then resold them through an online auction site.

Jose Rodriguez, 48, is charged with one count of theft from an agency that receives federal funding and with one count of theft of government property, acting U.S. Attorney Rachel A. Honig announced on Tuesday. Rodriguez is scheduled to appear in federal court via teleconference on Tuesday in Newark.

Court documents show that Rodriguez has been an Amtrak employee since 2007 and has worked most recently as a senior engineer and repairman out of New Brunswick. Between the summer of 2016 and summer of 2020, Rodriguez obtained 77 chainsaws, 103 bars, and 163 chains from Amtrak – all of which was valued at more than $50,000, Honig said.

He then used an online auction site to sell the equipment, authorities said, and then sell it to purchasers throughout the United States. Rodriguez is said to have also contacted one purchaser directly on multiple occasions and offered to sell the chainsaws and parts the same day he picked up the chainsaws and parts from Amtrak. Law enforcement agents picked up the equipment that he sold and matched the serial numbers to the equipment belonging to Amtrak. One of the chainsaws had previously been reported stolen by Amtrak, court documents show.

If convicted, Rodriguez faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.