MTA Worker Sentenced for Stealing Truck, Downing Wires on LI

A Metropolitan Transportation Authority worker who stole equipment to pay off an IRS bill and knocked down electric poles in a stolen bucket truck on Long Island will spend the next five years on probation.

Nassau County prosecutors say Joel Grasman was sentenced Wednesday.

The 54-year-old already spent seven months in prison and will now serve five years of probation. He also needs to repay more than $1 million in restitution.

Grasman admitted to stealing a truck from an MTA yard in Queens in August 2013. Police say he drove it for miles with the boom extended, knocking down telephone poles, power lines and trees in Elmont.

He told police he was looking for quick cash to pay off an IRS bill.

His attorney, Peter Menoudakos, declined to comment.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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