Duluth Man Sentenced to 90 Months for Interstate Transportation of Stolen Vehicle

MADISON, WI—John W. Vaudreuil, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced Gale A. Rachuy, 61, of Duluth, Minn., was sentenced on February 3, 2012, by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 90 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for interstate transportation of a stolen motor vehicle.

Rachuy pleaded guilty to this charge on November 8, 2011, which involved obtaining vehicles in northwestern Wisconsin through the use of worthless checks and transporting the vehicles to Minnesota. His sentence will be served concurrently with a previously imposed Minnesota state sentence.

In sentencing the defendant, Judge Conley departed upward from the otherwise applicable sentencing guideline range of 37 to 46 months because of the defendant’s extensive criminal history. Rachuy has 28 convictions, mostly for fraud. Judge Conley said he was “astounded” by Rachuy’s record and that Rachuy is “the epitome of a white-collar career offender.” The judge went on to say the defendant has shown “no compunction about committing additional crimes,” and that the sentence “is necessary to protect the public from a financial predator.”

The charges against Rachuy were the result of an investigation conducted by the Eau Claire office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Superior Police Department, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Duluth Police Department, and Carlton County (Minnesota) Sheriff’s Department. The prosecution of this case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen P. Sinnott and Grant C. Johnson.