Charges: Teacher stole $265k in outdoors gear from other employer

By PAUL WALSH, Star Tribune

Last update: September 25, 2009 - 12:09 AM

A former Little Falls Middle School teacher has been charged with stealing more than a quarter-million dollars in hunting and fishing gear while working part-time for his friend's family business and then selling the items on eBay.

David E. Gregoire, 43, of Little Falls, was charged in federal court Wednesday in Minneapolis with five counts of mail fraud and one count of transportation of stolen goods.

According to the charges:

While a science teacher, Gregoire, a longtime employee and "trusted" friend of the owners of Reed's Family Outdoor Outfitters, took at least $265,339 worth of merchandise from the sporting goods business between August 2005 and June 2008.

He intercepted the goods while transferring them from the company's warehouses in Walker to its store in Onamia and its former store in Baxter. He then sold the items on eBay, regularly offering them at or below wholesale prices.

In June 2008, Little Falls police searched Gregoire's residence and turned up hundreds of items including shotguns, rifles and scopes. In a statement to police, Gregoire allegedly admitted to the theft and sale of the items.

Gregoire resigned from the school district prior to the 2008-09 school year, said Superintendent Curt Tryggestad.

If convicted, Gregoire faces a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each of the five mail fraud counts and 10 years in prison on the count of interstate transportation of stolen goods.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482

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