NJ Man Gets 28-Month Sentence for Gourmet Mushroom Thefts

The 44-year-old formed a gourmet mushroom company and stole mushrooms from his competitor

A northern New Jersey man already facing prison time for embezzlement is now going to prison for a different scheme involving stolen mushrooms.

Gino Silva of Union will serve 28 months after pleading guilty to stealing thousands of dollars' worth of the mushrooms from Newark-based D'Artagnan, a gourmet food distributor where he worked.

Prosecutors say the 44-year-old formed a gourmet mushroom company with a co-conspirator to compete with D'Artagnan, and stole mushrooms from D'Artagnan to help fill orders.

Silva pleaded guilty last April.

At the time of the mushroom thefts, Silva had already pleaded guilty in a separate $1.2 million embezzlement scheme but had not been sentenced.

That scheme involved a computer company where Silva was vice president in charge of operations.
 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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