What some people will do for a buck

Ex-Lee's Summit helicopter dealer pleads guilty to fraud

Kansas City Star

March 04, 2008

* Original Kansas City Star article: Ex-Lee's Summit helicopter dealer pleads guilty to fraud Read the original story

A former Lee's Summit helicopter dealer pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to wire fraud and money laundering for misrepresenting the source of an engine part.

Robert A. Schlotzhauer, 68, admitted that in 2005 he sold a used engine compressor to a Nebraska man, telling him that the part came from a helicopter that had been in a hard landing after running out of gas.

In fact, Schlotzhauer acknowledged Tuesday, the compressor came from a helicopter that had crashed into the Pacific Ocean near Australia and had been submerged in saltwater for several hours.

Since his indictment in March 2006, Schlotzhauer has closed his business, Falcon Helicopter Inc.

As part of the plea agreement, Schlotzhauer agreed to pay a $550,000 fine and $63,854 in restitution to a Niagara Falls, N.Y., firm that had purchased a damaged helicopter from him.

In return, prosecutors agreed to a sentence of 12 months of home confinement.

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