North Bergen man sentenced in cargo theft ring

A North Bergen man was sentenced in federal court Tuesday to 41 months in prison for being the mastermind behind a nearly $1 million cargo theft ring, authorities said.Hamad Siyam, 43, had been convicted of conspiracy to possess, and the actual possession of, commercial goods traveling through interstate roads, according to a statement issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark.A jury in December found him guilty of a scheme to steal tractor-trailers loaded with merchandise, with the intent to resell them, the release states. The trailers were stolen out of New Jersey and Pennsylvania.Siyam initially sought help from an acquaintance to store the stolen goods, authorities said. The acquaintance, it turned out, was an informant for the FBI and New Jersey State Police.To catch him in the act, law enforcement officials stationed a man as manager of a warehouse in Sayreville. When Siyam arrived, four of his vehicles contained merchandise totaling nearly $1 million, authorities said. The items ranged from food and bed linen to clothes bound for Burlington Coat Factory and items meant to be shipped to Home Goods stores.Siyam was caught on tape talking about the goods and taking inventory, authorities said.In addition to time in prison, Siyam was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dennis Cavanaugh to three years of supervision upon release and to pay more than $633,000 in restitution, the release states.In a separate case, Siyam is facing charges of conspiracy to receive and sell stolen goods and money laundering, according to authorities. The charges stem from the alleged sale of baby formula stolen from stores in several southern states.E-mail: tat@northjersey.com