Whiting Man Sentenced To Prison And Ordered To Pay Restitution To The City Of Hammond

HAMMOND- The United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, Thomas L. Kirsch II and the Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division, Jeffrey Bossart Clark, announce that Kenneth Morrison, age 69, of Whiting, Indiana, was sentenced before United States District Court Judge Philip P. Simon on September 5, 2019.  Morrison was sentenced to 24 months imprisonment, 2 years supervised release, and ordered to pay over $54,000 in restitution to the City of Hammond.

Morrison was found guilty of interstate transportation of stolen property.  According to documents and testimony in this case, Morrison was convicted of stealing the Monon Bridge, located in Hammond, Indiana, and transporting the stolen metal parts across state lines, which he sold those metal parts for his personal benefit.  The former bridge had spanned the Grand Calumet River.  Morrison’s sentence was enhanced due to the eligibility of the bridge for the National Register of Historic Places.

The case was the result of an investigation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-Criminal Investigation Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-Office of Inspector General, Environmental and the U.S Coast Guard Criminal Investigative Service with the assistance of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.  This case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Richard J. Powers, U.S. Department of Justice, Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant United States Attorney Toi Denise Houston.

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