Theft Probe Leads to N.Va. Storage Site

That's when investigators reportedly found the weapons: gold-colored Russian Dragunov sniper rifles, gold-colored and nickel-plated AK-47s, four Iraqi swords, radios with Arabic writing, foreign helmets and Iraqi plaques. More than a hundred items are listed.

Authorities then searched another unit and an apartment Maziarz rented in Carlsbad. In his apartment, they found steroids and three commemorative Colt 1911 .45-caliber pistols "reputed to have been presented to Saddam Hussein," the agent wrote. In the storage units, they found more foreign weapons, digital cameras, computers and suspicious documents, according to the affidavit.

"Of note, two folders containing approximately 250 pages of material marked 'SECRET' were also discovered in one of the storage units," the agent wrote.

When investigators reviewed the material, they found that most concerned a 2004 "surveillance report of a suspected terrorist by a United States Government Agency."

"In order to avoid declassification of this document, I am intentionally avoiding any further description," the special agent writes, but he adds that these documents are believed "to be genuine and appropriately classified."

The investigation might have ended in California, but agents reviewing paperwork found a 2000 rental agreement between Maziarz and the Manassas storage center, according to the documents. A map was also found that showed an arrow pointing to unit 228 -- a 10-by-15-foot box that costs $164 a month to rent. It is where two agents showed up Nov. 7.

"I believe that Maziarz is using the Manassas storage unit to hold papers and equipment stolen from the USMC in the Northern Virginia area, just as he used the Carlsbad, CA unit," the special agent wrote, adding that the activity may stretch back as far as five years.

In April 2005, a second lock was put on the Manassas unit at the request of Maziarz, according to the documents.

"He asked me to put on another lock and send him the key," the manager, Ernie Jennison, said recently, standing in front of the barbed wire fence that surrounds the facility.

Jennison said the agents came several times and left a list inside the unit of what they took.

According to the search warrant, agents removed 43 items, including foreign and domestic military gear. They also collected objects that would require further scrutiny, including 74 floppy disks and a locked black briefcase.

Staff writers Josh White and Dana Priest contributed to this report.