Deputy Accused of Stealing Nickles From Crash Site

TITUSVILLE, Fla.

At least one Brevard County sheriff's deputy is being investigated on suspicion of gathering some of the federal government's scattered nickels that remain along Interstate 95 nearly a month after a crash involving a U.S. Treasury truck.

Details of the internal investigation will not be made public until the inquiry is complete.

"All we are allowed to say is that there is an active internal investigation going on that started on Sept. 26," Brevard County sheriff's Sgt. Linda Moros said. "The investigation was authorized by the sheriff and it was brought about internally."

One motorist caught with $300 in nickels had to give them up but was let off with only a warning.

The freshly minted nickels are property of the U.S. Treasury, and, in this case, finders aren't keepers.

The nickels were en route from the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia to the Federal Reserve Bank in Miami.

Two other people were injured in the crash, which shut down southbound I-95 just south of Scottsmoor for several hours while Treasury officials used heavy equipment to scrape up as many nickels as they could collect.

The Sept. 17 fatal wreck closed a stretch of I-95 for several hours in north Brevard County as Secret Service crews worked to clear the roadway of 3.7 million nickels. Most of the $185,000 was recovered.

The Florida Highway Patrol said that the armored truck carrying the booty rear-ended another truck, sending it into a guardrail on the west shoulder of the highway, just south of county Road 5A. The armored truck then overturned on its right side in the center median, killing a guard in the truck's sleeper cab and spilling tons of nickels.

The truck was on its way to the Miami branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, according to authorities.

Florida Highway Patrol officials have warned against anyone stopping to take the coins, as they are still property of the Treasury Department.

FHP spokeswoman Kim Miller said it is not only dangerous, but against the law.

"This isn't abandoned property," she said last month. "We know who the owner is."

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September 22, 2008: Police Search For Motorists Who Stuffed Pockets With Nickels After Treasury Rig Crash
September 17, 2008: 4 Million Nickels Scattered On I-95 When U.S. Treasury Big Rig Crashes