This is really great news! When is the last time that a
stolen plane has been successfully tracked and a suspect
arrested? Perhaps the "homeland security" drive gave the
feds an extra push to solve this case. If so, I think that
is the first (only?) positive affect on GA. Lakewood Muni
has had plane thefts and avionics thefts in the past with
hardly any notice by authorities when reported.
----

newspaper excerpt:

Stolen plane found

Published in the Ocean County Observer 10/30/03
By BRENDEN SHUR
Staff Writer

TOMS RIVER -- The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office yesterday
released information regarding the theft of a small private
plane in August and the arrest a month later of the
Minnesota man charged with stealing it.

Investigators were first notified Aug. 14 that a Cessna
airplane being housed at Lakewood Municipal Airport was
stolen while the owner was out of town and the plane was
being watched by a friend, spokesman Lt. Robert Urie said.

After Lakewood Capt. Robert C. Lawson and Capt. Robert Peck
of the prosecutor's office were notified, an investigation
ensued, Urie said.

"When it first came in, the terrorism coordinators gave it a
lot of attention," he said.

Following the notification of the Federal Aviation
Administration as well as the FBI, County Investigator Taryn
Rittacco Schwartz and Sgt. Paul Daly of the Lakewood Police
Department were given the case and investigated the theft,
according to a release from the prosecutor's office.

The pair requested the tracking of the plane's movements
through the FAA and learned that the plane had left Lakewood
shortly after 6 a.m. on Aug. 14 and flew to an airport in
Chatham, Ontario, Canada, the release stated.


FULL STORY:
http://www.injersey.com/observer/sto...843585,00.html