Brothers get house arrest for eBay scheme
By Phil Ray, pray@altoonamirror.comHOLLIDAYSBURG - Two area brothers, who at one time sold hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of illegally obtained items on eBay, will spend the next several months in home detention and the next 10 years after that on probation, a Blair County judge ordered Friday.
President Judge Jolene G. Kopriva sentenced Tye and Tod Dively after they entered guilty pleas to charges of operating a corrupt organization, using illegal proceeds to operate the organization and conspiracy.
Tye Dively, 32, of Claysburg RD also entered a no-contest plea to a theft charge. He will spend the next nine months on house arrest.
Tod Dively, 41, of Imler will serve six months' house arrest.
While on house arrest, the brothers will be able to go to work but their whereabouts outside the home will be closely monitored because they each will be wearing ankle bracelets. They will pay for their supervision.
Prior to 2003, the Divelys had a thriving eBay business, believed by police to be among the largest on the Web site, an international Internet flea market.
The Divelys would tell people who needed money, many believed to be drug addicts, what items were hot on eBay, everything from TVs to computers to personal items, court documents state. The thieves went to stores in Blair and surrounding counties and pilfered the items or in some cases, used stolen checks to buy the goods, police said.
One man told state troopers that he took an estimated $750,000 worth of goods to the brothers.
Police doing surveillance of Tye Dively's residence stopped a FedEx truck leaving the home in January 2004. The driver reported he was transporting 190 boxes from the home.
The investigation began in late 2003 after a woman caught with stolen goods told officers she was taking them to another man who sold them to the Divelys.
A federal grand jury indicted the brothers for tax evasion, stating they owed $225,000 in income taxes but had paid only $27,169. Tye Dively was sentenced to 16 months in jail on the federal charges and Tod received a year plus a day.
Blair County Deputy District Attorney Jackie Bernard said the prosecution agreed to house arrest because the brothers already served jail time and are now able to work and pay off what they owe.
When the brothers were charged in February with the state offenses, Tod Dively told the Mirror only a small percentage of the goods sold on eBay were stolen. Tye Dively said the state charges were "part of the cleanup" of the federal investigation.
Neither brother spoke during Friday's sentencing.
Mirror Staff Writer Phil Ray is at 946-7468.
|
NeverSatisfied
|
|
|---|---|
|
09-27-09 9:36 AM
|
These morons should be thankful they only got house arrest. Just because you (and your supporters) think you're good people who simply made a mistake , or in this case MANY mistakes, does not make it any less of a crime. You took advantage of drug addicts (more criminals) and the folks that do legitamate business on Ebay. People that purchased items sold by these yo-yos are now open to prosecution by purchasing stolen items. Couple of huckleberries, if you ask me. There is no means to make it happen, but these morons should be barred from Ebay for life. They would simply have someone else di it for them...
|
|
epoch1
|
|
|
09-26-09 11:44 PM
|
TOYMAN: Pipe down. You're a crook. You knowingly bought stolen goods and didn't pay your taxes. You're a criminal.
|
|
TOYMAN
|
|
|
09-26-09 10:20 PM
|
LegalEagle, you are correct with most of what you speak. We have made mistakes. Being at the bottom of the moutain has been quite a humbling experience. But My hiking boots are strapped on tightly and I have begun my record setting hike to the top of kilamanjaro, and the hike back up is going to taste so much sweeter. Proving people wrong has always motivated me, and now I am fully motivated once again. I am way to intelligent to try to take a lil shortcuts again.Catch everyone later, if you ever get the chance come hike with me, the air up here is pretty soothing.
|
|
livelaughlove
|
|
|
09-26-09 8:23 PM
|
how come these always get personal. I guess when someone commits a crime we should just shoot them. people **** up, its part of life. I believe everyone is entitled to make a living. Apparently they know how to make a living doing the ebay thing, if it was that easy everyone would try it.
|
|
Jhana2012
|
|
|
09-26-09 7:55 PM
|
Blogsniper- I agree with all that you said, 100 percent.*****froze over today!
|
|
Jhana2012
|
|
|
09-26-09 7:52 PM
|
Wahhh, good people who made a mistake equals CRIMINAL.
|
|
epoch1
|
|
|
09-26-09 5:33 PM
|
livelaughlove: The taxes is one of the issues. The other issue is that they knowingly purchased stolen goods. And as far as "being generous and helping out a worthless bum", I'm sure they helped many worthless bums get their next fix by paying them for their stolen merchandise. Bottom line, they are criminals, and are still operating on ebay. Boy did they get punished.
|
|
livelaughlove
|
|
|
09-26-09 2:33 PM
|
This isnt about selling drugs and guns. This is about not paying your taxes. There is not a "working" man or woman that has never skimmed the irs a hair. Some people just have taken it too far. We werent there, we really dont know what happens for sure. Any drug addict in america that is sitting in jail is gonna say anything against anyone to get out. thats common sense.
|
|
livelaughlove
|
|
|
09-26-09 1:50 PM
|
Being someone that knows these people quite well. Tyes problem was being generous and helping out a worthless bum like richard way. Richie as he is known helped to get these boys in this mess and escaped clean as a whistle as usual. I think the only thing he did was plead guilty to stealing from tye and didn't even see jail time for it. They made a mistake and have went to federal prison for it. These two work there ass off for everything they have ever gotten in there life. They didnt come from a wealthy family, They worked twice as hard than most to get what they have earned. pay your taxes boys and you will be ok.
|
|
NeverSatisfied
|
|
|
09-26-09 1:48 PM
|
Only a matter of time until they have everything taken. The IRS is ruthless and if they continue to prosper on Ebay, the IRS will keep an eye on it. Crime does not pay, folks... Some people never learn that..
|
|
unsilentmajority
|
|
|
09-26-09 1:37 PM
|
Mustangwild---I dont know there financial situation and frankly don't care. You sound jealous of people who work to make a living. Sorry the welfare system only gives you so much. The one brother owes over 500,000. Thats hardly getting off ez. In a world where felons have trouble getting jobs. Thank god for you they can still do ebay so they can pay the debt to society and pay for you to live at home and collect a check and write blogs all day.
|
|
lambs1
|
|
|
09-26-09 12:26 PM
|
Truth, everyone was doing well without the 'Blog patrol'! Go post on Webster's if it bothers you...
|
|
truthseeker
|
|
|
09-26-09 11:05 AM
|
unsilentmajority would do well to stay silent until he learns proper spelling. He hears, not heres. Also there are many women out here who resent the implication of "like talking to a woman". And Blogsniper I agree with you, but "their" is possessive. It should be they're (a contraction of they are).
|
|
unsilentmajority
|
|
|
09-26-09 11:01 AM
|
I'm pretty sure they lost everything including there homes and vehicles.
|
|
unsilentmajority
|
|
|
09-26-09 11:00 AM
|
They pled guilty to 3 larger felonys. theft by deception and all that is only misdemeaner offenses. I don't know all the facts but sounds pretty excessive punishment to me, thinkin that the dively brothers original attorney(Thomas Dickey) made a mistake in not wrapping the two cases into one.
|
|
RazMnaz
|
|
|
09-26-09 10:58 AM
|
How long did these brothers think they were going to get away with doing this? They were pretty stupid in thinking that none of those individuals that were providing all that merchandise to be sold would ever be caught and squeal on them. Plus, greed always catches up to you in one way or another.
|
|
unsilentmajority
|
|
|
09-26-09 9:09 AM
|
Sounds like a form of double jeopardy to me..I know these men, they are both god people who made a bad mistake and have suffered dearly for it. The altoona mirror and phil Rae has blown this story out of proportion since the inception of it. Phil seems to be one of the journalists that is much like talking to a woman, He heres what he wants to here and repors what he wants to report regardless of the facts being presented in front of him.
|