Fri, Oct 28, 2005
EAA Member Arrested For Stripping Seneca To Build His Own
Plane
It started when Jerry Dwyer's Piper Seneca lost an engine over
Iowa. He landed safely at Waterloo Airport and parked the plane --
for five years -- while he looked for a replacement engine.
Last year, Dwyer noticed something... well... odd.
While checking on his
1973 Seneca (file photo of type, above), he noticed an engine and
propeller missing (presumably the engine that wasn't blown). Later,
he found the aircraft sitting on wooden pallets -- the landing gear
was gone. Then the autopilot went missing. Then other components --
seats, radios and the entire instrument panel -- just flat out
disappeared.
At some point, Dwyer apparently became suspicious. He called
police.
Tuesday, police arrested 48-year old John Nocero of Cedar Falls,
IA -- an officer in the EAA's Waterloo chapter -- charging him with
first-degree theft. Investigators think Nocero ransacked Dwyer's
Seneca and planned to use the parts in the Mustang II he was
building.
Nocero is listed on EAA Chapter 227's web site as the
chapter's secretary.
Dwyer said his Seneca was severely damaged when the parts were
removed. "He chopped a hole in the side of the damn thing to get
the autopilot out. He's basically ruined the airplane," Dwyer told
the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier.
Court records indicated Nocero admitted stealing Dwyer's landing
gear. Nocero couldn't be reached for comment. He was released from
the Black Hawk County jail pending trial. If convicted on the first
degree theft charge, he could spend the next ten years in
prison.
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