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Store owner accused of reselling stolen goods waives hearing

MT. PLEASANT TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The owner of a mom-and-pop grocery store in Westmoreland County accused of making millions of dollars reselling stolen goods waived his preliminary hearing on Thursday.

Melvin "Beanie" McCloy, 60, has pleaded not guilty to charges including running a corrupt organization and receiving stolen property, according to WPXI news partner TribLIVE.

RELATED: Store owner accused in scheme of stealing from grocery stores, re-selling stolen items

A forensic analysis of McCloy’s business records showed that in 2016 he “deposited $3.9 million into his business account,” investigators reported in court documents. “In the year of 2017 up to July, he deposited $1.7 million.”

In a July 2017 search, investigators took inventory of items inside the Mt. Pleasant Township store and determined about 65 percent of the merchandise was believed to have been stolen, state police allege in court documents.

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And in 2015, investigators reported that they paid $160 for 20 cases of soda at an area store and then took the cache to McCloy, who paid $40 for it, according to court documents. In July 2015, an undercover trooper took 25 cases of soda to McCloy, who bought it for $80.

McCloy's attorney disputed the allegations, noting that most of the proceeds referred to in the criminal complaints were total amount of checks he cashed for people in the community, according to TribLIVE.

“It was done as a courtesy … he didn’t even take a fee for cashing those checks. But he admits he did it to entice people to come into the store and then hoped they would buy something in return,” Francis Murrman said.

McCloy remains free on $25,000 unsecured bond.

 

Cox Media Group

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