Andrew colwell Июль 8, 2008
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Stealing scrap metal a growth business
The 184 pounds of copper bought by Enos Metals in Taunton recently didn’ levitra online;t look familiar to staff there, at first. It was only after the company bought the copper for $522 from a local man that owner Joe Enos smelled something fishy. That’s because he had seen it before.
The copper, stripped from its original insulation, “perfectly” matched 300 pounds of copper stolen from the same Taunton scrap metal yard weeks earlier. And, the homeless person who reportedly sold them the copper, now a suspect in the theft case, briefly worked for the company.
“Boy, he pulled the wool over my eyes, you know,” said Enos, 74. “It can happen. People are into deceptive practices.”
While metal scrap may look like junk, some local folks are using it — even stealing it, then cashing it in — to make a pretty penny.
High scrap prices have brought a resurgence in metal thefts around the country, including everything from copper pipes used in plumbing to the catalytic converters of automobiles. Copper, for example, can sell for up to $3 per pound, depending on its grade.
Local recycling company officials say they try to employ safeguards to prevent buying metal that has been stolen, but the system is far from perfect.
“If they come in with new stuff, we always ask where they got it,” said Mike Brancaccio, manager at Spiegel Scrap Metal Inc. in Brockton.
But the Taunton case illustrates how easy it is for scrap dealers to overlook scrap metal’s origin.
Aside from taking identification from a seller, noting their license plate, and having surveillance cameras on their property, local scrap dealers have few guaranteed safeguards in place. Most rely on common sense — if the seller and the scrap look questionable, they don’t buy it.
Authorities also find it difficult to rezeptfrei bestellen viagra nab scrap metal thieves.
“We probably investigate (scrap metal theft) several times a week,” said Bridgewater officer Jack Hobson. “People steal copper and everything from houses under construction, parts of cars. This has been an age-old problem.”
Authorities say they’re looking to proposed legislation to help.
Sen. James Timilty, D-Walpole, is sponsoring a bill that would require pawn brokers and second hand dealers, including scrap dealers, to register their transactions with the state.
The goal is to have an online state registry of all scrap transactions that would be viewed only by law enforcement, Timilty said, in the hopes of catching thieves.
“It’s necessary based on what we’re seeing,” Timilty said.
The program would be modeled on a Rhode Island program for pawn brokers, he said.
The bill received favorable recommendation by the state Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure, and is now being reviewed at the Senate Ways and Means committee, he said.
Timilty said he is hopeful the bill, which was previously rejected by lawmakers, will pass this time, although he is cognizant of budgetary limitations.
In Taunton, the man who allegedly stole the copper from Enos Metals, then sold some of it back to the company, went to another Taunton scrap dealer to sell the rest.
He didn’t have any luck there.
Enos called Sean Moore, owner of Old Colony Scrap on West Water Street in Taunton, to alert him of the stolen copper.
“He told me, ‘If a guy shows up with stripped copper, let me know,’” said Moore, who added the suspect tried to sell him the remaining copper on Monday, but he didn’t buy it.
There’s been a spike in other thefts of metal from homes, businesses, construction sites and vehicles in recent weeks:
In May, two men were charged with stripping the pipes from the basement of an abandoned home on Lexington Street in Brockton.In April, a Brockton city councilor caught two Brockton school custodians selling metal using a School Department pickup truck while they were on duty.In April in Randolph, police arrested three men after they were caught by a police officer loading scrap metal from a recycling company into a truck. On April 15, a Brockton man was charged after he allegedly stole a $1,980 traffic signal control box owned by the city and cashed it in for $11. The Fire Department later cashed in the box, found to be made of aluminum, for $68.
“It was completely hollowed out, nothing in it, no wire, nothing,” said John Morrissey, owner of Eco Recycling Systems Inc. in Brockton, w …
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