Army probes $2M theft of ball bearings from New Mexico missile range

ALBQUERQUE, N.M. — The U.S. Army has opened an investigation in the alleged theft of $2 million worth of nickel ball bearings, officials said.

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The probe centers around a former high-ranking civilian official at New Mexico’s White Sands Missile Range, the Albuquerque Journal reported. The 230,000 pounds of stolen ball bearings were used in explosives research at the range, the newspaper reported, citing a recently unsealed federal search warrant.

The warrant was filed in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque.

The warrant, granted to the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command, alleges probable cause against Randolph Brady, a former director at the missile range; and Mario Escobedo, the owner of EGL Construction, the Journal reported. Other people may also have conspired to steal government property, according to the newspaper.

Federal authorities on Monday seized more than $1 million held in a bank account in the name of Escobedo’s business, according to the Journal.

No charges have been filed against either man, the newspaper reported.

Efforts to reach Brady for comment have been unsuccessful, according to the Journal.

Reached by telephone, Escobedo denied a theft had occurred.

“In the first place, it wasn’t stolen,” Escobedo told the Journal on Wednesday. “And it’s not $2 million worth.”

An Army investigator learned that metals were being stolen from the White Sands Missile Range, which is located in southern New Mexico.

The document states that Brady hired Escobedo to remove four holding tanks that contained 3/8-inch nickel ball bearings from the Large Blast Thermal Simulator at the range.

The ball bearings were taken to Acme Iron & Metal near Albuquerque.

Officials at White Sands declined to comment.

“WSMR is unable to comment due to an ongoing investigation at this time,” Scott Stearns, a spokesperson for the missile range, said in an email. “We can confirm Randy Brady is no longer employed at White Sands Missile Range or within the Army Test and Evaluation Command.”

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