By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
An ICE agent was arrested Tuesday on charges of stealing tens of thousands of dollars of government property and selling it on eBay, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark said.
Steven Kucan, 47, of Wood Ridge, N.J., was arrested by agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General and ICE, Office of Professional Responsibility.
Authorities said Kucan supervised an administrative group at ICE’s offices in New York since the 1990s, and was responsible for obtaining, storing and controlling ICE equipment.
Between December 2004 and February 2011, authorities alleged that he regularly stole ICE property including printing cartridges, film, batteries, camera lenses, combat lights for ICE’s M-4 rifles and an immersion suit designed to prevent hypothermia in cold water.
Authorities alleged that Kucan had an eBay account under a relative’s name and sold $37,000 in ICE property.
ICE employees reported seeing Kucan wheel ICE property out of the offices on carts, including on a Saturday.
A raid at his home turned up about $40,000 in ICE property including personal computers, printers, keyboards, police batons, flashlights, work gloves, safety glasses, lifejackets, helmets, handcuffs, gun holsters, camera lenses, emergency lights and sirens, and two-way radio systems, authorities said.
