Former employees of a electrical manufacturing company are facing multiple Pittsburgh theft charges, with detectives alleging the group orchestrated the heist more than $3 million in silver.

Our Pittsburgh theft defense attorneys understand there may be a heavy weight of evidence in this case. However, it's worth noting that an experienced criminal defense attorney can carefully examine the circumstances surrounding each charge, and work for leniency from the court, no matter what evidence the state has.

In this case, a 55-year-old man is accused of theft that occurred over the course of several years.

In 2008, three other employees of AMI DODUCO - now called Metalor Technologies - in Murrysville, less than a half hour outside of Pittsburgh, were arrested for theft charges. The trio had been accused of stealing baseball-sized scraps of silver throughout a two-year period of working at the company, which builds electrical contact equipment.

The company alleges that the three then took the stolen silver and sold it to various scrap dealers using phony identification cards. State law requires that dealers of precious metals have to register with the local sheriff's office. Records of each sale has to be sent to either the district attorney or state police. They also have to keep detailed records of each sale, including a copy of the photo identification of the person selling the metal, any identifying marks or serial numbers. Officers used these records in bolstering their case.

Each of those individuals pleaded no contest to stealing silver pellets, which they put in their lunch boxes. They each served jail terms.

But detectives apparently always suspected the 55-year-old employee of involvement. Earlier this month, they arrested him, as well as his wife, and four other employees, ranging in age from 22 to 56.

In one instance, authorities say the man broke into the factory last year, put a shirt over the surveillance camera and made off with nearly 430 pounds of silver.

Police say that everyone in the group worked together.

Some of the individuals, however, could face increased penalties, due to prior criminal records that include offenses such as robbery, simple assault, burglary, fraud and theft.