Four upstate New Yorkers were arrested in connection with stealing tens of thousands of dollars worth of military equipment from the 174th and 272nd Army Military Police Detachment in Auburn and the Army National Guard 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in Syracuse, and trying to resell the items, New York State Police said Monday.

An investigation began last month, when the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division told State Police that James Waleski, a Department of Defense civilian employed at the 174th Air National Guard Attack Wing in Syracuse, opened a Facebook Marketplace account and was offering to sell military-grade equipment, some sensitive in nature, not available to the general public, police said.

Police said search warrants executed on Waleski’s residence in Jamesville, phone and computer resulted in the recovery of stolen government-owned military equipment, and an investigation revealed he was selling stolen items online and in person. The State Police said it recovered thousands of dollars of military equipment from Texas, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Florida and from Taberg in Oneida County, and Flushing, New York.

In one instance, investigators recovered a ballistic vest being reshipped to Russia, police said.

Police said investigators also determined Gordon Reynolds, a military police officer assigned to the 272nd Military Police Detachment in Auburn, and Joriann Garcia-Hernandez, a unit supply specialist assigned to Company D 152nd Brigade Engineer Battalion in Syracuse, were also stealing items.

James Waleski, 50, was charged with second-degree grand larceny, 10 counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and unlawful sale of body armor; Reynolds, 44, of Chittenango, was charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon; Garcia-Hernandez, 38, of Rome, was charged with petit larceny; and Jennifer Waleski, who resides at the same address as James Waleski, was charged with third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, according to police.

The investigation was led by the State Police Community Stabilization Unit and assisted by the State Police Violent Gangs & Narcotics Enforcement Team, the State Police Counter Terrorism & Intelligence Unit, Federal Bureau of Investigation – Syracuse Office, Madison County District Attorney’s Office, Army Criminal Investigations Division, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and command staff at the 174th, the 272nd and the 27th.

Anyone with information, or anyone who has purchased military equipment from James Waleski, is asked to call Investigator Carl Schneider at State Police headquarters at (315) 366-6000.