A Florida aircraft mechanic has been charged with multiple counts of theft for allegedly removing serviceable parts from aircraft, selling them and charging his customers to replace them with new parts. Joseph Lippo, who operates J.L. Aircraft Services in Deland, was arrested on Wednesday and has since been released on a $15,000 bond. The investigation began with a complaint from the owner of an old Gulfstream II like the one in the photo that the owner claimed had been “gutted” by Lippo. According to the Daytona Beach News Journal, Lippo told investigators he had permission to scrap the plane by one of the owners and by the Department of Homeland Security, which he claimed had seized the plane.
Besides the Gulfstream, Lippo is accused of charging other customers for work that wasn’t done to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars. “During the investigation, it was discovered that the owner and operator had been removing functional parts from planes, installing them in other planes and charging the owners for replacement parts in the original planes,” the paper quoted a police statement as saying. Daytona police are asking for any other potential victims to come forward as they look into exactly how many aircraft and operators are affected.
