A father and son facing felony charges on suspicion of stealing $70,000 from a Gillette coal mine insisted Wednesday that they did nothing wrong.
Court documents accuse George Costello and his son Bo Costello, of Cypress, Texas, of failing to pay for $70,000 worth of scrap metal around April 29-30 after striking deal with the Belle Ayr Coal Mine in Gillette.
George turns 51 this year and Bo turns 33 this year.
Their cases rose to the felony-level Campbell County District Court late last week.
“There are no theft charges. They lied,” George Costello told Cowboy State Daily in a Wednesday phone interview. He said he showed the prosecutor receipts for what he characterizes as a valid transaction between his business and the mine.
Mine personnel monitored him closely while he worked with them, he added.
“So whatever they’re telling you, man, you got a bum story,” he said. “And when it’s all said and done, I’m gonna sue the county for bringing me and my son in there and dragging me into court … (for) taking that company’s word before me.”
George Costello ended his phone interview abruptly and with profane language.
His son Bo Costello reiterated the point: “I will file criminal charges against you for posting up (this story),” said Bo in his own phone interview. “So you best keep your nose out if it. … You go screw yourself. And you can make sure to put that in the newspaper too.”
The mine’s parent company Eagle Specialty Materials LLC declined Wednesday to comment, with a spokesman saying, “We don’t comment on ongoing legal issues or investigations.”
Court Documents Say …
Court documents filed Thursday in Campbell County District Court tell a different story from the Costellos' account.
A Belle Ayr Coal Mine electrical planner reported the theft of $70,000 worth of scrap metal at about midday May 1.
Men he knew as George and Bo Gonzales had contacted him eight days earlier, saying they owned a company called Industrial Exchangers LLC and they wanted to buy scrap metal, says an affidavit filed in George Costello’s case.
They presented to the electrical planner a business card with those names, which identified George as the president and Bo as the purchasing manager, reportedly.
Campbell County Sheriff’s Investigator Heather Monson ran the license plates of their vehicle and learned their legal last names were instead Costello, says the document.
Money’s Moving
On April 24, the mine wrote two notice of shipment receipts to Industrial Exchangers, one for $500 and one for $55,000, for scrap metal, the document says.
The mine reportedly received a wire transfer from Cadence Bank on April 23 and 24 for those two purchases.
One of the Costellos transferred the money with his phone without making any phone calls, and the mine received the transfer in minutes, the electrical planner told the investigator.
On April 30, the mine wrote a notice of shipment for 19 pieces of scrap trail cable, worth $70,000 altogether, the affidavit says.
Someone, the affidavit does not say who, asked the mine’s electrical planner to write “paid in full” on the receipt though the wire transfer hadn’t gone through. The planner did since the other wire transfers hadn’t been an issue, says the document.
But he wrote in parenthesis, “Big phone have not received,” and had Bo sign underneath the total, since he found it odd the expected wire transfer hadn’t been received as quickly as the others, the affidavit says.
Weight Slip
Other issues unfolded.
On April 29, George sent the electrical planner a text message showing a weight slip with a weight that was much less than what Belle Ayr had sold Industrial Exchangers, the document says.
In the picture, the driver of the truck held up a QuickTrip scale receipt with the total weight of 46,520 pounds, with Brayan Logistics listed as a prospective customer on the receipt, reportedly.
The affidavit says the electrical planner spoke with his supervisors to get more product added to another truck for Industrial Exchangers – to make up the supposed weight difference on the truck. But the planner didn’t believe George’s weight was correct and found it odd the driver used a QuickTrip scale and not a certified scale, he later told an investigator, adding that he believed the two men were being “fishy.”
The electrical planner asked the mine’s accountant if Industrial Exchangers had sent the wire transfer. The accountant said it hadn’t, the document says.
‘Done Paid You Already’
On May 1, the electrical planner checked again — and still saw no $70,000 transfer, says the affidavit.
He reportedly texted George and told him the mine hadn’t been paid.
“I done paid you already,” answered George, according to the affidavit. “I have receipt. Paid in full.”
The affidavit says the electrical planner asked for a copy of the wire transfer.
“Check your wire transfer I send it. That’s why I got a paid in full receipt,” George allegedly answered. “Don’t know what the f*** you’re talking about.”
The electrical planner asked for a confirmation number and George said the money should’ve been in the account a long time ago, says the document.
The electrical planner agreed with that.
He asked George to contact his bank and find out what had gone wrong. George allegedly refused and kept saying he’d paid.
Calling About The Weight
The electrical planner and another mine administrator called the dispatching company Industrial exchangers had used for the trucks transporting the scrap metal Bryan Logistics LLC.
One of them recorded the phone call, says the document.
On the phone, the dispatcher became upset that the mine hadn’t been paid, and said he had been offered money to set up the truck weight to show a lower weight than what had been loaded, allegedly. He was worried he wouldn’t be paid by Industrial Exchangers.
“That guy was trying to cheat on the weight,” said the dispatcher.
He said he had words about this at the time, telling a Costello that “the company would want the real weight,” the document says.
But he was told the delivery would be blind and the issue would be taken care of, allegedly.
‘The Main Guy’
George reportedly called the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office and spoke with Monson on May 8. George said he’d spoke with “the main guy at the refinery” and that he had paid his end of the bargain.
George refused Monson’s requests for more information about himself and his operation, the affidavit says. He allegedly said it was a closed case since he’d paid, and called the mine personnel “losers” before hanging up.
Later, the electrical planner picked the Costellos out of a lineup of different people’s photos, the affidavit says.
Monson called another company, SK Scrap Metal, and asked for the receipts printed for Industrial Exchangers LLC regarding the final weights of the trucks and their product at the drop-off.
The business owner misunderstood and called Industrial Exchangers to ask how many trucks they’d brought from the Belle Ayr Mine, the affidavit says.
Later, Monson received a call from Bo Costello’s number, and the caller demanded to know what was going on, the affidavit alleges. The caller reportedly said he’d make sure the owner didn’t send any receipts until he knew what was going on.
The document says Monson tried to get some more information out of Bo, but he simply said he’d paid everything and the call ended.
Four-Count Information
Each Costello faces the same four felony charges:
• Felony theft, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and $10,000 in fines.
• Conspiracy to commit felony theft, same penalty as above.
• False representation of value, punishable by up to five years and $10,000 in fines.
• Conspiracy to represent value falsely, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and $10,000 in fines.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
