By Casey Sullivan
NEW YORK, Jan 15 (Reuters) - A former Fried, Frank, Harris,
Shriver & Jacobson employee who worked in the law firm's copying
department was indicted by a state grand jury on Tuesday for
stealing more than $376,000 of copy machine toner from the
firm's suppliers, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's
Office.
The Fried Frank employee, Adrian Rodriguez, 39, who had
worked with the Wall Street firm for 10 years, was charged with
two counts of grand larceny in the second degree for the alleged
theft, a class C felony, according to Manhattan District
Attorney Cyrus Vance.
"It may surprise many New Yorkers to learn that there is a
black market for office supplies," said Vance in a statement.
"This defendant didn't just take a box of Post-it notes out of
the office supply."
Between October 2010 and December 2012, Rodriguez ordered
copy machine toner from the firm's copy machine suppliers,
Konica Minolta Business Solution and Ricoh U.S.A., in excess of
the firm's needs, according to a release issued by the Manhattan
Attorney's office.
Rodriguez then resold the toner products at a "deep
discount," asking just $10 per box of black ink toner and $15
for color ink toner, according to the indictment. The toner
cartridges were valued between $80 and $259 each, according to
court papers.
The alleged theft was discovered after an undercover sting
operation in December in which the District Attorney's Office
worked with Fried Frank, said the indictment.
During the sting, investigators premarked a large shipment
of toner before it was delivered to the firm and then tracked
the toner and found that Rodriguez sold it to an unnamed
customer, according to court records. The customer sent a
delivery van to pick up the stolen products at a loading dock in
the 1 New York Plaza parking garage, said the indictment.
Rodriguez admitted to the scheme after being apprehended by
authorities in mid-December, according to court papers. Vance
said in court papers that Rodriguez was "using the money to
party and otherwise finance his lifestyle."
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office said on Tuesday the
investigation is ongoing.
A call placed with Rodriguez's defense lawyer, Sharyn Henry
of New York County Defender Services, was not immediately
returned. Two Fried Frank spokeswomen did not immediately
respond to a request for comment.
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