Former Anheuser-Busch brewery consultant charged with stealing

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A former consultant for Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis faces a federal indictment for allegedly stealing from the nation's largest brewer.

Jack Walter Barrett faces 24 counts of interstate transportation of stolen property and one count of wire fraud. The charges against the 35-year-old suspect were announced late Wednesday by U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway.

Barrett worked at the brewery as an information technology consultant. The indictment accuses him of stealing computer hardware and selling it on eBay. Hanaway says the stolen equipment was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Barrett's lawyer told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the brewery allowed Barrett and others to take outdated equipment home and sell it.