Copper Thefts Are Costing Us

By KEITH MORELLI The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jul 12, 2007

TAMPA - Copper, the not-so-rare precious metal that as pennies slips forever between couch cushions, is a hot commodity on the black market these days.

In the quest for scrap metal that can be sold for attractive prices, authorities say, thieves knocked out air conditioners for classrooms near Tampa, caused traffic tie-ups at railroad crossings in Plant City and disabled streetlights over bridges in Charlotte County.

Metal prices are high because there is a shortage overseas and unscrupulous entrepreneurs will do what it takes to supply that demand - including stealing the stuff.

Thieves sawed the bronze arms off a statue of soccer champ Pele in Brazil and turned off electricity to a hospital in Santo Domingo. TV ads in Haiti implore viewers to "stop cutting down wires."

Copper is the most tempting metal, analysts say, because it fetches the most cash per pound.

The recent arrests of two Tampa brothers who authorities said specialized in the dismantling of air-conditioning units to get to copper and aluminum coils illustrate the problem.

They are accused of snatching wiring and tubing from units to sell at scrap-metal yards.

Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies said the money the scrap copper and aluminum fetched was a fraction of the cost of damage caused by the extraction process.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage was done to the rooftop units, including many at public schools, business parks and office buildings.

At McDonald Elementary School in Seffner, 10 rooftop units were hit, resulting in $55,000 in damage. At just one business complex east of Tampa, 18 air-conditioning units were damaged to the tune of $150,000.

Deputies named two suspects in the crime spree: Joe Bailey, 32, 1016 E. Seward St., Apt. A, and his 33-year-old brother, Howard, 1606 E. Waters Ave. Each was charged with multiple counts of grand theft and felony criminal mischief.

Operation Hot Wire

Others also seek the copper grail.

In Brandon this year, 126 suspected copper thieves were rounded up by sheriff's deputies, ending a three-month investigation dubbed Operation Hot Wire.

The investigation targeted thieves and those who knowingly bought and sold stolen copper. The thieves targeted businesses and utilities, churches, railroads and homes.

In 2006, victims reported $3million worth of copper thefts in Tampa and unincorporated Hillsborough, deputies said, and that doesn't include the costs to replace wire or repair damage.

The 126 arrests were tied to 25 tons of stolen copper, but investigators think some companies didn't report copper thefts, authorities said.

On Jan. 15, thieves made off with $5,000 worth of copper tubing from a Town 'N Country distributor in a nighttime burglary that damaged the rear wall of a warehouse owned by Coastline Distributing of Tampa.

Thieves pulled a rear metal wall away from the structure's frame on Anderson Road to get access to the materials inside. They stole several 100-foot spools of copper tubing.

Nothing else was taken, deputies said.

In Citrus Park recently, Darrell Scott Parsons, a 20-year-old homeless man, was charged with grand theft and burglary after neighbors said they saw him load copper, aluminum and other scrap metals into a pickup and haul them from the backyard of a resident.

The property was valued at $3,100, but deputies said Parsons told them he sold it as scrap metal for $40.

Difficult To Track

Last year, thefts of copper wiring used for operation of railroad crossing barriers in downtown Plant City caused traffic backups because trains had to stop and let off employees who halted traffic while the train lumbered past.

Deputies often are filing theft reports of copper tubing, wires or pipes from construction sites.

Sheriff's Sgt. Dorothy Flair said thefts of copper, particularly from unsecured construction sites where wire and plumbing are delivered and often sit unattended for several days, are a constant problem.

"Copper, at some recycling companies, can sell for $3.95 a pound," she said. "Copper is such a popular thing for people to steal and recycle; the reason being it's difficult to track."

Authorities in Charlotte County investigated the theft in May of 21,000 feet of copper wire from light poles on two bridges there. The wire was worth about $11,000, officials said, speculating it would have taken a team of three thieves about three to four hours to get inside the poles and steal the wire.

Recyclers Keep Records

Scrap metal and recycling yards are required to maintain records of who is bringing in scrap copper, and they must grant access to sheriff's detectives who occasionally inspect those records, she said.

"Most of the yards are playing by the rules," Flair said, "But the yards don't know if the scrap copper is stolen or not. If they do suspect something, they do call."

She said the theft of copper and aluminum is a common crime.

"We fight this problem every single day, and we make numerous arrests," she said. It's prevalent because "it's easy to steal and sell," she said. "We are continuously looking for ways to combat it."

Larry Nash, owner of Patriot Metals in Gibsonton, said he is constantly watching for thieves trying to peddle stolen scrap metal, particularly copper and aluminum. If someone comes in with a box full of new copper wire or tubing, that's a red flag, he said, and the deal is turned down.

"It's a hard thing," he said. "We don't know. A guy was in here [last month] with a box of new copper, and we wouldn't buy it. But if someone comes in here with 80 pounds of copper and it's damaged, we just don't know.

"We try to do the best we can," he said.

In years past, people would come in, dump their load of scrap metal and then go to the cashier's window for reimbursement, only then showing their identification. Nash said nowadays, customers must show identification before they can unload their scrap.

Customers also must bring their scrap in a registered vehicle. Identification and registration numbers are recorded, he said, and if anything looks suspicious, authorities are called.

Only about 10 percent to 15 percent of his business is copper, he said. Aluminum is a greater percentage and is brought in by commercial accounts or by homeowners, mostly in the form of cans or torn down porches or carports, he said.

From his yard, the metal is baled and shipped to recyclers.

Catalytic Converter Thefts

Patriot Metals, which has 25 employees and has been operating for about 30 years, recycles an average of 27 loads, 40,000 pounds each, of scrap metal a month, he said.

What he pays for scrap metal depends on the worldwide metal market, "and that changes by the minute," he said, although he adjusts his price about once a week.

Payouts for copper are about $2.80 a pound, but the price has been as high as $3 or more a pound, he said.

Thieves' interest in scrap metals goes beyond copper and aluminum, and they are resourceful in mining the most unusual sources.

This year, law enforcement agencies across the nation noticed a rash of catalytic converter thefts.

Why? The antipollution devices attached to the underside of vehicles contain small amounts of platinum, rhodium and palladium. The value of these precious metals has risen sharply, making catalytic converters hot property.

Scrap-metal yards, authorities said, pay $30 to $150 for catalytic converters.

Researcher Buddy Jaudon contributed to this report. Information from The Associated Press was also used. Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at kmorelli@tampatrib.com or (813) 865-1504.