DATE: Saturday, October 18, 1997            TAG: 9710180348

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 
DATELINE: CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C.                LENGTH:   83 lines

STOLEN ARMS WERE NOT FOR TERRORISTS THEFTS AT N.C. BASE WERE FOR PROFITS ONLY BASE OFFICIALS SAY ARRESTED MARINES VALUED THE DOLLAR MORE THAN HONOR.

Terrorists weren't the target market for the plastic explosives, hand grenades and other weapons stolen from Camp Lejeune, the head of military criminal investigations here said Friday.

``There are no groups, no connections, no conspiracies that we've been able to determine.'' said Neill Robins, head of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service for North Carolina and South Carolina.

The five Marines still in custody are suspected of independently hiding extra explosives from training exercises and seeking out buyers, Robins said. Federal agents acting as middlemen bought the stolen explosives and then sold them to gun enthusiasts searching for greater firepower, he said.

All the C-4 plastic explosives, detonation cords, hand grenades and small-arms ammunition taken from Camp Lejeune appears to have been recovered after an undercover investigation of such thefts and their sale throughout the southeastern United States, Robins said.

Robins could not name the source of machine guns, rocket launchers and land mines recovered by federal agents in a series of arrests Thursday, other than to say they apparently came from other military bases. Robins referred questions about other recovered weapons to the FBI in Charlotte, which led Thursday's raids.

The FBI didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.

Federal agents were carrying out more searches Friday resulting from what was dubbed ``Operation Longfuse,'' Robins said.

The Marines appeared to be seeking cash as reward for taking advantage of sloppy inventory controls, said Col. Joe Yannessa, head of base security.

``There are still some individuals where possessing the dollar sign becomes higher than'' integrity, he said.

In response to the arrests, Defense Secretary William Cohen ordered Thursday a 30-day review of security procedures throughout the armed services.

``It is imperative that we be confident that military arms and munitions are tightly controlled and safeguarded,'' Cohen said Thursday.

Three of the Marines, who are being held until a magistrate's hearing next week, saw combat in Operation Desert Storm in 1991, according to military service records released Friday. Their service in the Marines ranged from 10 to 23 years, and they varied in rank from sergeant to captain.

A sixth Marine detained Thursday - Master Gunnery Sgt. Alfred A. Gerich, 41, of McHenry, Ill. - was released and returned to his unit, Yannessa said.

Gerich was determined not to be a flight risk but may be charged later, officials said. None of the Marines has been formally charged.

The eight civilians facing a variety of federal charges in connection with illegally manufacturing and selling military explosives and hardware were ``people that are gun crazies,'' Robins said. They, too, acted independently of each other.

``The common denominator is these are people who like guns,'' he said.

Undercover operations began in September 1996 after a Marine supervisor at Camp Lejeune reported the explosives thefts, federal affidavits released Thursday said.

The cooperating Marine pointed investigators to suspects including Gregory Roland Pruess, 35, of Boone. Pruess had bought C-4 explosives from the unidentified Marine witness and others in 1994, and he had just been released from federal prison. Pruess pleaded guilty to unlawfully transferring firearms and weapons in April 1996 after agents recovered rocket launchers, machine guns and grenades.

The cooperating Marine called Pruess in August to offer surplus gun parts and to introduce two undercover agents, the affidavits said. On Sept. 11, the undercover agents sold Pruess 16 blocks of C-4 explosives and other high explosives for $15,000 and the promise of another $5,000, the affidavits said.

``These kinds of items bring an awful lot of money on the black market,'' said Vaughn Taylor, a civilian attorney who said he previously has represented Marines in ordnance smuggling cases.

The high rank of the Marines made the case even more unusual, said said Dick McNeil, a retired Marine major who is now a civilian military defense attorney.

``They're all fairly high ranking. In the military, these guys probably have excellent records,'' he said.

McNeil and Taylor said they had been contacted to possibly represent Marines who were being held in Camp Lejeune's brig Friday. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

Neill Robins KEYWORDS: U.S. MARINE CORPS EXPLOSIVES STOLEN WEAPONS

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