Participants in a scam to sell

stolen tractors at a motorcycle shop in Fayette County are facing felony

racketeering charges as the list of recovered John Deere equipment continues

to pile up.

One of the suspects, Larry

F. Whitaker of Griffin, is already in custody with a $1.5 million bond.

Racketeering warrants have also been filed against Lewis Gilbert Shirley,

56, of Fayetteville; Steven Richardson, age unknown, of Hampton; Kenneth

J. Green, 32, of Griffin and Bobby Leon Green, 34, of Atlanta. None of

these men were in custody as of Thursday morning.

According to the warrants,

the Greens are accused of arranging the theft of the equipment, mostly

tractors and utility vehicles. Shirley and Richardson are accused of selling

some of the equipment; Shirley would operate out of American Twin Motorcycles

on Ga. Highway 85 North while Richardson sold his from Henry County.

The stolen equipment carried

a value of $1.5 million, according to law enforcement officials.

Maj. Bruce Jordan of the Fayette

County Sheriff's Department said the equipment was usually sold at half

off the retail price. The equipment was stolen from John Deere dealerships

across the southeast, usually with three pieces of equipment taken each

time, Jordan said.

The equipment made its way

to Fayette in covered moving vans, Jordan added.

One of the persons caught with

a tractor, Roy Boyer, owner of the Speedi Pig restaurant, was charged

with obstruction of a police officer for attempting to hide the machine

from officers.

Warrants indicate that other

Fayette residents purchased the tractors from Shirley, including Ralph

Padavano, Robert Newburn and Gary Lee Wright. None of those men face criminal

charges, however.

So far, 23 pieces of equipment

have been recovered, most of which was found in Fayette County, Jordan

said.

Authorities have seized the

contents of Kenneth J. Green's home in Griffin, which was owned by another

person, Jordan said.

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