The trial of Masaoishy Sallem, 35, started on Monday morning and he was represented by attorney Steven Pixley. The federal government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Beverly McCallum.
Sallem was indicted with 24-year-old Dominic Chipwelong and 52-year-old James Ochcha.
Chipwelong has been sentenced to a 10-month jail term and a three-year supervised release after he entered into a plea agreement with the federal government.
The federal court also ordered him to pay $35,490 in restitution jointly with Ochcha and to perform 100 hours of community service.
The court has set Ochcha’s sentencing for Oct. 27.
Ochcha pleaded guilty to the indictment that charged him with one count of conspiracy to sell government property and one count of destruction of veteran memorials.
Ochcha was also indicted separately for destruction of veteran memorials as well as unlawfully destroying metal lighting units, structures and monuments located at the Court of Honor and on park property near the Beach Road entrance of American Memorial Park
The indictment stated that Ochcha accompanied Chipwelong on the morning of Nov. 1, 2007 to sell a portion of the metal lighting units they stole from American Memorial Park to the employees of the Huang Zheng Recycling Center.
