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Zambelli to pay $200K for not reporting theft

PITTSBURGH — A 124-year-old Pennsylvania fireworks business will pay a $200,000 penalty after pleading guilty to failing to report more than 63,000 fireworks that were stolen nearly three years ago.

Zambelli International Fireworks in January announced it had agreed to the penalty, which was imposed Monday by a federal judge under an agreement with federal prosecutors in Pittsburgh and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The penalties include a $5,000 fine, which goes to the federal treasury, and a $195,000 administrative forfeiture, money that goes to the ATF.

Barry Hartman, one of the company’s attorneys, pleaded guilty Monday to failing to report the loss of explosive material. The law requires fireworks dealers licensed by the ATF to report missing or stolen explosives within 24 hours.

The commercial-grade display fireworks were stolen sometime between July 21 and Aug. 4 in 2014 but not discovered until later that year. State troopers found them in the home of a Zambelli employee, who has since been fired.

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