Indictment unsealed against Palermo
Published 9:31 am Monday, April 21, 2014
Local businessman Joseph Palermo Jr. has been indicted on charges of forgery and illegal possession of stolen things.
An indictment was unsealed Monday morning in state district court that charged Palermo, 70, with one count of forgery, three counts of illegal possession of stolen things and one count of altering or removing identifying numbers of a motor vehicle.
The sealed indictment was entered March 13. The charges revolve around two John Deere bulldozers, a Takeuchi excavator and a Bourg gooseneck trailer.
Judge Ron Ware issued an arrest warrant for Palermo and accepted District Attorney John DeRosier’s bond recommendation of $75,000 bond.
Palermo is alleged to have forged a bill of sale for a 2004 John Deere 650H bulldozer in November 2012, according to the indictment.
The indictment also alleges that from 2003 to 2010 he had a stolen 1996 John Deere 650G bulldozer and that from 2002 to 2013 he had a stolen 1999 Takeuchi TB3175 Excavator and a 32-foot Bourg gooseneck trailer. He removed the manufacturer’s number on the trailer, it said.
Palermo “knew and had good reason to believe” that all three were stolen, the indictment said.
Bond was set at $20,000 on the forgery count, $15,000 on each count of illegal possession of stolen things and $10,000 on the count of altering and removing identifying numbers of a motor vehicle.
Palermo’s attorneys declined to comment.
