Man Gets Prison Term for Stealing Trees in U.S. Forests

By JOHN BRANTON, Columbian staff writer

A man who stole young trees from several national forests, including the Gifford Pinchot, was sentenced to 21/2 years in prison on Friday and ordered to pay $12,430 in restitution.

Greg A. Gray of Rochester had pleaded guilty to one count each of theft of government property and money laundering.

Beside the 30-month prison sentence and restitution laid down in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, Judge Ronald Leighton ordered Gray to undergo three years of federal supervision after he’s released, said Dan Wardlaw, an IRS special agent based in Vancouver.

For about three years ending in July 2003, officials said, Gray stole 4- to 8-foot-tall fir and hemlock trees from high-elevation areas in the Gifford Pinchot, Mount Hood, Okanogan, Wenatchee, Deschutes and Willamette national forests.

He sold the trees to area nurseries for a total of about $62,000.

“Mr. Gray was making his living at the expense of the taxpayers and our public lands,” said Ron Pugh, a U.S. Forest Service investigator based in Vancouver.

“This case represents the strong partnership that the Forest Service and (IRS) have when it comes to combating those crimes in our nation’s forests that have a financial motive,” said Sherree Preston, IRS special agent in charge for Washington.

John Branton covers crime and law enforcement for The Columbian. He can be reached at 360-759-8012 or john.branton@columbian.com.