Two men charged in bribe scheme

Two men have been charged in a scheme to steal transformers from an old industrial site in St. Charles, police said Monday.

Mario Gomez, 33, of 2333 N. 77th Court, Elmwood Park, was arrested Saturday after offering a bribe to an undercover officer posing as a security guard in exchange for entrance to the site formerly known as Applied Composites, 333 N. Sixth St., police said. Also arrested was, in fact, security guard Frederick B. Miranda, 35, of 2608 Mark Carre Court, Lisle, who is accused of granting Gomez access to the property in exchange for money previously.

According to police, Gomez stole six transformers valued around $15,000, damaging a fence in the process, after bribing Miranda on Thursday. Police said Gomez emptied oil from the transformers into a nearby drainage ditch, prompting a hazardous materials investigation by St. Charles fire officials.

On Saturday, an undercover officer posing as an employee of Elite Security Service in Chicago returned to see if Gomez would try to make a similar arrangement. When he did, Gomez ended up being charged with felony theft, attempted burglary, burglary and felony criminal damage to property, police said. Miranda was charged with felony criminal damage to property, felony theft and disorderly conduct for filing a false police report claiming to be a victim of armed robbery, according to police.

Bond was set at $35,000 for Miranda, and $25,000 for Gomez. Neither was listed as in custody Monday on the Kane County jail Web site.

The men were arrested less than a month after a 30-year-old St. Charles man, Robert J. Paluch, was electrocuted to death at the same site, apparently while trying to steal copper from a high-voltage electrical switch, police said.