Thread: L.A. - Thieves Disable 700 Streetlights to Steal Copper

THIS IS ONLY THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG! THIEVES ARE STEALING CATALYTIC CONVERTERS FROM AUTOS; SATELLITE EQUIPMENT FROM ROOF TOPS; PUBLIC BATHROOM FIXTURES; NEW CONSTRUCTION SITE PLUMBING FIXTURES; AND EVEN MANHOLE COVERS!!!!

THIS IS ALL OCCURING IN LOCATIONS THAT ARE 99% HISPANIC. WONDER IF THERE COULD BE ANY CONNECTION BETWEEN CERTAIN PEOPLE WHO ARE ONLY HERE TO DO JOBS AMERICANS WON'T DO!

ANOTHER PROBLEM IS ...THE PEOPLE WHO OWN THE SALVAGE YARDS....
I'M SURE THERE IS A LITTLE COOPERATION WITH THE THIEVES.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
.
Thieves posing as maintenance workers have taken 370,000 feet of wire. The city has spent $1 million on repairs.

By Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
December 5, 2007

Thieves have disabled about 700 streetlights in Los Angeles, making off with 370,000 feet of valuable copper wiring over the last four months.

L.A. officials said it is a twist on copper thefts that have plagued new home sites and even some office buildings in the last few years.

With some lights pilfered during the summer still out, city officials Tuesday expressed concerns about the safety of passing drivers, pedestrians and bikers. The Los Angeles Public Works Department has already spent nearly $1 million repairing the lights.

"When we have to go out and replace that wire, it takes away from other city services," said Public Works Commissioner Cynthia Ruiz at a news conference on a downtown street corner near samples of copper streetlight wire. "If I had an extra million dollars I could put 10 graffiti crews on the streets."

Among the hardest hit areas are Boyle Heights, the east San Fernando Valley and Wilmington, as well as a three-mile stretch of the Los Angeles River Bike Path between Los Feliz Boulevard and the L.A. Zoo. Police in other cities, including San Bernardino, Redlands, San Jose, San Francisco and Pasadena, are struggling with a similar spate of streetlight wire thefts.

Some large blocks in the Eastside have not had street lighting since August. At the corner of 12th and Soto streets Tuesday, Mary Rivera worked in darkness loading furniture she had just bought from a warehouse store into her truck.

"When you don't have light in the streets you can have an accident, especially when you have people who are drinking liquor and walking in the street," Rivera said.

Jose Sanchez, 34, a production manager at AAA Glass Corp. on East 12th Street, watched Tuesday as darkness fell and the streetlight in front of his business remained off.

"Now you can see it's very dark," he said. "They stole a car last week from here. And they broke into this company Thanksgiving weekend. I think it does make a difference."

There are more than 200,000 streetlights in Los Angeles, and authorities worry the thefts will continue unless they target the criminals.

The thieves pry open boxes at the base of two neighboring poles, exposing a stretch of copper wire that connects the poles underground, then snip the wire and pull it out from one end. The wire can take hours to haul -- 10 feet weighs about a pound and sells for up to $30 as scrap -- which is why thieves usually target borderline industrial areas after dark, police said.

Thieves have plagued construction sites, parking lots, stadiums and vacant buildings across Southern California in recent years, scavenging for copper wires, pipes and panels.

But as copper prices climbed last summer, streetlight thefts increased, said Thomas Higgins, a Los Angeles County prosecutor.

Cities across the nation are also grappling with a rash of streetlight wire thefts and have found ways to prevent the damage.

Some in central Florida leave streetlights on all day or replace copper with aluminum wire, which has a shorter life span but is less attractive to thieves. Others have reinforced streetlight wiring boxes, welding some shut.

"This problem is happening all over the country, but because we are one of the largest systems, we are noticing it more," said Ed Ebrahimian, director of L.A.'s Bureau of Street Lighting.

Ebrahimian said city workers try to better secure the streetlight wire they replace but are often foiled by thieves. Last month, they welded boxes shut along the L.A. River Bike Path only to see thieves break in and steal the wire again, Ebrahimian said.

Higgins said lawmakers could combat the thefts by changing the law to hold copper scrap dealers to the same standard as pawnbrokers dealing in gold, who must keep detailed records of those they buy from or face misdemeanor charges.

Police say it is difficult to charge copper thieves. It is a felony to steal more than $400 in city property, but investigators say they often catch wire thieves just as they are getting started, with less than $400 in wire.

Councilman Jose Huizar, who receives about seven calls a week from Boyle Heights constituents complaining about broken streetlights, wants to increase enforcement and penalties for scrap dealers who buy stolen copper wire and possibly label city wire to prevent it from being stolen.

Police encourage residents to write down license plate numbers and contact them when they see people other than city crews removing streetlight wire.

molly.hennessy-fiske@latimes.com

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me ... california

Why wonder? All you have to do is recall a time in the history of this country prior to the illegal alien invasion you read about a crime of this nature . . . oh wait, there weren't any.

They're just doing the jobs Americans don't.

A little?

That's an understatement.

This is the Britainization of America's inner cities.

http://www.steynonline.com/content/blogcategory/14/70/

That was some interesting reading about the metal theft in England.

I think that kind of theft is growing here.

Yes, we can have all the laws on the books we want, unless they are enforced, respected and feared, it makes no difference. We have seen that with illegal immigration.

Can you imagine not being able to leave your patio furniture outside? I know a little group of homes in the country that have that problem. They can't have flowers, shrubs, kids can't ride a bike outside the yard, etc. There is a trailer part about 1/4 mile up the road filled with illegal aliens. Although, thefts have been reported time after time, the police say they just can't do anything about it.

It's coming to all our neighborhoods soon.

THIEVES ARE STEALING CATALYTIC CONVERTERS FROM AUTOS; SATELLITE EQUIPMENT FROM ROOF TOPS; PUBLIC BATHROOM FIXTURES; NEW CONSTRUCTION SITE PLUMBING FIXTURES; AND EVEN MANHOLE COVERS!!!!

AND vases from head stones in cemeteries for the bronze or copper metal.

Bronze Urns Stolen From Cemetery

By Dan Morse
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 26, 2007; Page B03

Charles County detectives are probing the theft of more than 100 vases from a Waldorf cemetery, saying the urns were probably removed from headstones to sell as scrap metal. Detectives said the thefts may be linked to similar incidents in other counties.

Authorities in Charles said the recent thefts occurred Monday and Friday at Trinity Memorial Gardens on Mattawoman Beantown Road in Waldorf.

Because of higher metal prices, thieves across the county are stealing all sorts of objects, including downspouts, beer kegs, light poles and air-conditioning units. Thieves have taken bronze vases from many cemeteries, including sites in Northern Virginia.

In Minnesota, police said a 45-year-old Elk River woman was arrested last month in connection with the theft of a seven-foot statue of Buddha, covered in bronze, from an outdoor shrine at the Thai Buddhist Center of Minnesota, according to the Associated Press.

In Norfolk, three former shipyard workers were indicted recently on charges of stealing more than $190,000 worth of Navy ship parts and selling them for scrap, according to an article in the Virginian-Pilot. The three were accused of using a rope to lower the parts, rudder stock stuffing glands, from the ship onto a truck and driving off, according to the newspaper. The parts were made partially of brass and bronze alloys.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 02053.html

They came from Mexico to steal anything and everything they possibly can..................and they're doing it. Nothing is safe from these thieves and it will only get worse.
The government is at fault for not stopping it.

There was a type of movie popular a few years ago - futuristic type - about how we would be living in filth, lawlessness, etc.

The possibility of that type of existence is becoming more and more real.



It looks to me like a search of all scrap metal dealers might be in order.

UMMMM, just look at the cities this is happening in... you reap what you sow. If you can not see the cause and affect of illegal immigration you deserve what you get. WAKE UP AMERICA....time is running out!!



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLEASE TAKE ACTION!!!! 12/5
HELP STOP "NORTH CAROLINA COMMUNITY COLLEGES" FROM ADMITTING ILLEGALS !!(This could come to your community college next)
WATCH VIDEO!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zxJZBecp_0
ACTION THREAD( Instructions @ contact information)
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-92808.html
WHAT WOULD WE DO WITHOUT ALIPAC Please Contribute!!
http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=C ... page&pid=9