Former Metro Workers Sentenced in Fare Theft Case

Two former Metro workers are going to prison for stealing more than $500,000 in coins and petty cash from farecard machines and using much of the money to buy lottery tickets.

On Friday, a federal judge in Alexandria imposed a 37-month sentence on former Metro police officer John Haile, 52, of Woodbridge, Va., and a 30-month sentence on revenue technician Horace McDade, 58, of Bowie, Md.

The two were arrested in January, and pled guilty March 19 to theft concerning programs receiving federal funds and conspiring to commit money laundering.

"These men were on the front lines of securing Metro's fares, and they brazenly abused their positions – shift after shift, year after year -- to steal half a million dollars from Metro and local taxpayers," said U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride. "Now they will spend years in prison paying for their greed."

Haile received a longer sentence because he still refuses to tell authorities how he obtained two keys that aided in the thefts. Both men apologized, but the judge said they were motivated by greed and imposed the sentences sought by prosecutors.

The investigation began in October 2011 after authorities received reports that Haile routinely brought sacks of coins to a convenience store to buy scratch-off tickets.