Thread: Attempt to take a light pole: Not a bright idea

Attempt to take a light pole: Not a bright idea

Posted on Tue, Jul. 29, 2008

By JENNIFER LEBOVICH
jlebovich@MiamiHerald.com

The light pole had been lying on the side of the road for quite some time, Elio Valera said.

Thinking he could haul it to a Miami recycling center and pocket a couple hundred bucks, Valera strapped the pole to the top of his Astro van and hung a red flag at the base. His journey ended with his arrest.

As Valera drove the five miles to the recycling center, the pole teetered precariously in the wind. The strange sight was spotted by Miami police officer Danny Fals just after 11 a.m. Tuesday. Fals pulled Valera over at Northwest Seventh Avenue and 21st Street.

Valera, 43, was charged with grand theft and dealing in stolen property.

''This is something completely unusual for us,'' said Kenia Alfonso, a Miami police spokeswoman. ``We've never seen anything like this.''

Valera, who told the officer he has a suspended driver's license , had apparently seen the pole lying on the side of the road at 83rd Street and Biscayne Boulevard.

''He was attempting to recycle it for about $350,'' Alfonso said.

While police were at the recycling center, another man was spotted trying to recycle someone else's property.

Police said they spotted Joseph Moniz, 40, pushing a shopping cart down the street to the recycling center -- with a storm cover inside.

Moniz was arrested on a charge of grand theft and dealing in stolen property.

Both the light post and the storm cover belonged to Miami-Dade County.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-d ... 22476.html

Video: Man arrested for stealing light pole

http://www.local10.com/news/17028005/detail.html#

Both the light post and the storm cover belonged to Miami-Dade County.

Taxpayer's money, and how often is this sort of crime happening? And goes unreported