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Date: Fri, 18 May 2012 01:16:52 -0400
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From: bernieS <ber..._at_netaxs.com>
Subject: GloucesterTimes: Global theft charges dismissed vs. Rockport
man
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http://www.gloucestertimes.com/local/x234161795/Global-theft-charges-dismis=
sed-vs-Rockport-man
GloucesterTimes.com, Gloucester, MA
May 18, 2012
Global theft charges dismissed vs. Rockport man
By Steven Fletcher
Staff Writer
ROCKPORT =AD A Peabody District Court judge has=20
dismissed charges of larceny and obstruction of=20
justice against a Rockport man who was accused of=20
failing to deliver counter surveillance equipment=20
to a Swiss company yesterday =AD and still faces a=20
number of weapons charges as well.
Judge Richard Mori on Thursday dismissed the=20
theft and obstruction charges against James=20
Atkinson, 46, of 31R Broadway because the state=20
prosecutor's witnesses =AD one from Switzerland and=20
the other from Tennessee =AD did not show up for=20
the trial, according to both Atkinson's attorney=20
and the Essex County district attorney's office.
Atkinson had been arrested on the charges in=20
2009, after two foreign companies contacted=20
Rockport Police alleging he failed to deliver on=20
the counter surveillance gear he promised.
"When all the evidence and records came together,=20
it irrefutably proved that I did absolutely nothing wrong," Atkinson said.
Carrie Kimball-Monahan, spokeswoman for the Essex=20
County District Attorney's office, said the=20
charges were dismissed because, without=20
witnesses, the state couldn't prosecute. The=20
charges have been in court for 2 1/2 years.=20
Atkinson's attorney, Paul Andrews of Denner and=20
Pellegrino LLP in Boston, said the state didn't=20
have probable cause to charge Atkinson in the first place.
Atkinson's initial arrest came after a complaint=20
from GAZ Turbine Services, a Swiss firm that=20
produces technology and equipment for the oil and gas industry.
The Swiss company had contacted the Chamber in an=20
attempt to find out if Atkinson's purported=20
Granite Island Group was a real business. The=20
caller told the Chamber that his company=20
purchased surveillance equipment from Atkinson's=20
company for over $32,000, but that it never=20
arrived, according to a report written by=20
Rockport officer Daniel Mahoney. The Chamber contacted police.
Atkinson reiterated Thursday that his company=20
serves as a go-between for companies looking to=20
purchase counter surveillance technology and companies that make it.
GAZ Turbine paid him $32,000 for the equipment,=20
and he sent the money to Tennessee-based Research=20
Electronics International. That company=20
manufactures and ships the counter surveillance=20
equipment. Without proper export documents=20
stating the end user of the electronics, Atkinson=20
said, the company can't ship them.
According to Andrews' motion to dismiss the=20
charges, GAZ ordered the equipment in October=20
2009. Soon after, Atkinson paid REI for the=20
equipment, but REI said it needed a letter=20
declaring the end user of the electronics. GAZ=20
didn't send that letter until Nov. 23, according to court documents.
Stephen Spring of Spring and Spring LLP in=20
Louisiana, Atkinson's second attorney, said the=20
charges shouldn't have been brought forward in the first place.
"(GAZ) used the police department for extortion,=20
threatening criminal charges when they're the=20
ones who didn't supply the proper documents," Spring said.
Andrews' motion also cited that, during Rockport=20
Police's investigation, Atkinson and his=20
attorneys stated that when Mahoney called him, he=20
did so on a recorded line. A line, they stated,=20
Mahoney didn't state was recorded until about=20
seven minutes into the conversation.
Atkinson will face trial in Salem District Court=20
on a total of 16 other charges stemming from his=20
arrest, including several charges of possessing=20
firearms and ammunition without a license,=20
illegally having Class E prescription drugs, and=20
possessing high-capacity firearms =AD among them an=20
M27 rocket launcher. Monahan said there is no date for that trial set yet.
He is also representing himself in his own civil=20
rights suit targeting the town of Rockport and=20
other defendants in the first Circuit Court of Appeals.
Steven Fletcher may be contacted at=20
1-978-283-7000 x3455, or=20
sfle..._at_gloucestertimes.com. Follow him on Twitter at @stevengdt
http://www.gloucestertimes.com/local/x234161795/Global-theft-charges-dismis=
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