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Ex-Marine Gets Probation, House Arrest For ID Theft

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By ELAINE SILVESTRINI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 7, 2008

TAMPA - A former Marine lance corporal who pleaded guilty to stealing the identity of a fellow Marine to buy a plasma television online has been sentenced to five years probation, with a condition that he stay in a halfway house on house arrest for six months, his lawyer said.

Prosecutors say Steven Lee Fickey stole the identities of about 18 people, using them to buy things through a Web site maintained by the Army and Air Force Exchange Service.

Fickey's attorney, Rochelle A. Reback, said Fickey suffers mental problems that were made worse by a seizure disorder, which has since been treated with medication. She said he has a chronic, progressive neurological disease called neurofibromatosis.

The medication has "really made a huge difference in him," she said. "That made him better.

Among the service members whose identities Fickey stole was a Marine serving in Iraq, according to a complaint filed in 2007.

Reback said sentencing guidelines called for a sentence of 12 to 18 months, but Fickey has already served 14 months while the case was pending. Technically, he could have gone home today, Reback said, but he had nowhere to go, so U.S. District Judge Richard Lazara gave him house arrest in a halfway house.

Among the other purchases prosecutors accused Fickey of making: a Dell computer, sword display cases, prime rib steaks and an acoustic guitar, according to the complaint.

Because of Fickey's mental problems, he had no impulse control and was a hoarder, Reback said. When investigators searched his apartment, they found all kinds of items he had purchased, many which were never opened, she said. "He just ordered all this stuff that made no sense," Reback said. They found a violin, and he doesn't play the violin.

She said Fickey didn't try to sell the items; he just kept them in his apartment.

Fickey was in the Marines from May 1999 to November 2000 and was a lance corporal when he was discharged. In September 1999, he was assigned to the Marine base in Twentynine Palms, Calif., according to court records.

In 2007, the prosecution asked for an evaluation of Fickey's competence. The petition suggested Fickey was trying to fake mental illness.

Witnesses told investigators Fickey maintained "a very militaristic bearing," according to the government's motion. "The defendant has been observed walking up and down the parking lot of the Park Del Mar Apartments complex in Tampa, wearing his uniform and carrying a ceremonial sword, apparently practicing parade drills."

When investigators searched his apartment Dec. 1, 2005, he told them he didn't order or purchase the items they found. He said the items "just keep getting delivered by the UPS man," the motion states. Fickey said he asked the UPS man to take the items away, but the UPS man refused.

As the FBI was trying to schedule an interview with Fickey, he apparently tried to commit suicide by swallowing half a bottle of Tylenol and then called 911, a motion states. In March 2006, Fickey told an FBI agent he recently had been hospitalized for a psychotic episode and depression, the motion states. He also said he hears voices.

In April 2006, he moved to an assisted-living facility, Sunshine Manor, in Plant City.

Fickey was found competent to stand trial, according to court papers.

"I'm very grateful to the court for the sensitivity the judge showed to fashioning, not only a just sentence for this defendant, but a sentence that hopefully that will allow him to receive the treatment he needs to remain law abiding," Reback said. "And that's the kind of sentence that is good for the defendant and good for the community because it promotes public safety. Treating mentally ill people promotes public safety, and it's unfortunate that often the only opportunity for that is through the criminal justice system."

Reporter Elaine Silvestrini can be reached at (813) 259-7837.

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