Truck driver charged with stealing meat

Lloyd Patterson, 48, of LaMotte, was charged Wednesday in U.S. District Court for stealing meat from interstate shipments.

He is charged with one count of conspiring to steal, receive and possess property valued in excess of $1,000 that had been stolen from interstate shipments. If convicted, Patterson faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

According to the criminal information, Patterson, while as  a driver for McFarland Trucking Co., from 2006 through September 2007, conspired with his brother to steal, receive, possess and convert to his own use processed meat products knowing the goods had been stolen from semi-trailers loaded and driven from AmeriCold storage facility in East Dubuque, Ill.

There were about 1,877 cases of meat products valued at $106,875 stolen from interstate shipments from 2006 to 2007, according to criminal information. Some of the shipments were kept for personal use by Patterson and his brother and others were sold.