Illinois man pleads guilty to stealing dental equipment

WHEATON, Ill. (AP) - An Elgin man charged with stealing $146,000 worth of dental equipment to sell it has been sentenced to four years in prison.

Prosecutors in DuPage County say 27-year-old Miguel Pizano pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy to commit theft in excess of $100,000, a felony.

Investigators say Pizano stole four dental imagers from Planmeca, a dental supply company in Roselle, in 2011 and then stored the equipment in a public storage unit in Elgin. Prosecutors say Pizano sold the equipment for $31,000 to a Mexico-based company sometime during the following year.

Authorities say Pizano had at least one unknown accomplice.

The judge who sentenced Pizano also ordered him to pay $146,000 in restitution to Planmeca.