TOKYO — The civilian manager of the Stars and Stripes commercial print shop in Tokyo could lose his job and be sent back to the United States, Camp Zama officials said Thursday, although no administrative actions have been indicated.
Gary Feller, 54, was arrested July 20 on suspicion of theft and had been detained at the Ikegami Police Station in Tokyo.
He was released into U.S. custody Tuesday, when Japanese officials declined to indict him on larceny charges, said Maj. John Amberg, a U.S. Army Japan spokesman.
While a military police investigation continues, the U.S. military has no criminal prosecution authority over Feller, Amberg said. The Uniform Code of Military Justice applies only to active-duty military personnel.
Defense Department civilian employees accused of crimes committed on foreign soil may be prosecuted in U.S. district courts.
On July 27, Camp Zama military investigators searched Feller’s room at Hardy Barracks, adjacent to the newspaper’s offices at the Akasaka Press Center.
After his Tuesday release, Feller was questioned by military police investigators at Camp Zama, then released to his quarters at Hardy Barracks, according to Stars and Stripes general manager John Panasiewicz.
He declined to discuss any actions Stars and Stripes now might take in connection with Feller, citing the privacy act.
Any actions taken against Feller by U.S. officials at this point might be administrative in nature, Amberg said, adding that such possibilities include being terminated as a non-appropriated funds employee or being barred from U.S. military installations in Japan.
Feller came to Stars and Stripes from the United States in February.
