PITTSBURGH – Michael Marburger, 36, claims that he lost about $1.6 million worth of stolen colonoscopes through gambling.
Between March 2004 and July 2006, Marburger sold colonoscopes to local hospitals only to steal them later and fence them to medical distributors. Marburger told a federal judge May 3 that he gambled away most of the nearly $500,000 he collected. In a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review report, Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Brady reported the total loss to the hospitals at $1,582,758.50.
According to Brady, after selling the colonoscopes to hospitals, Marburger would enter the facility wearing his former uniform or hospital scrubs, unhook the devices, place them in a bag and walk right out the door. Marburger is pleading guilty to one count of transporting stolen goods and claiming responsibility for another 65 counts that are being dropped. His victims spread across 22 hospitals in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia and New York. He faces up to 10 years in prison and has been ordered to pay restitution.
