NORTH ADAMS -- A 32-year-old Dalton man was found guilty of being the latest in a long line of people to steal from the old Farnam’s mill on Nobodys Road in Northern Berkshire District Court on Tuesday.
Toby E. Walton of Florence Street in Dalton admitted to sufficient facts and was found guilty on charges of two counts trespassing and single counts larceny over $250 and larceny under $250. Walton was given probation until March 18, 2014, fined $150 and ordered to pay $1,268.06 in restitution.
According to court documents, Walton had stolen iron and security cameras from the site back in June. The century-plus old mill was being torn down at that time, and an excavator owned by Sinapoli and Son Construction was broken into and had two windows smashed.
Images of Walton in the act were captured by the security cameras and stored in a base station that, unlike cameras themselves, Walton did not take from the scene, reads state Trooper Corey Mackey’s report.
The thefts were originally reported by Daniel Saldo of Saldo Auto Salvage, a nearby business.
Police then learned Walton had sold 800 pounds of steel to Apkins salvage yard in North Adams shortly after the reported theft.
Thefts and vandalism at the mill have been notorious over the years. Former owner Misha Saradoff reported tens of thousands of dollars worth of copper stolen and repeated instances of vandalism.
Saradoff’s wife Lucia
-- Phil Demers
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