What is up with all these copper thefts?

[proud2BlibKansan]

DH is in maintenance with a school district. They wanted to reopen one of their closed buildings so DH's crew went to work on the building. Thieves had stolen every piece of copper in the building.

Two employees of a local munitions plant got busted for stealing 8 TONS of copper from the plant. One of them is facing 245 years in prison.
http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/579409.html

1000 people are without phone service because someone stole the copper from a phone line.
http://www.kansascity.com/news/breaking_news/story/579820.html

[tekisui]

1. In some places the value of the copper in the building is worth more

than the building.

Some home values have gone down to that point. Metals value continue to go up.

[BobRossi]

2. Worth more than American currency.

Shrub's legacy.

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. Should I start melting down my penny collection?

:)

[deminks]

13. copper in pennies

http://coins.about.com/od/uscoins/f/copper_to_zinc.htm

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. I have wheat pennies

They are way older than that.

Off to the scrap dealer!! LOL

[TheCowsCameHome]

27. Have you seen the price of wheat lately? It's cheaper to eat pennies.

:rofl:

[proud2BlibKansan]

31. LOL

Then I can recycle my poop!

[eppur_se_muova]

50. If they're in good condition, they're more valuable to coin collectors than as copper. nt

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

3. Meth heads.

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/local/story.asp?ID=140346

[Island Blue]

7. Bingo. n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. Makes sense

Meth is a huge problem here.

[Kitty Herder]

18. It's not just meth heads.

Sometimes people are desperate to make a buck so they can eat.

And other's are just plain greedy. My brother had a neighbor who kept coming home with brand new, great big, fancy pick-up trucks, four-wheelers, jet-skis, etc. Turns out the neighbor was stealing copper and selling it. The guy had huge coils of the stuff, presumably stolen from coal mines and construction sites.

[sakabatou]

55. I can't view the article.

Please post or summarize.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

65. Odd, now I can't view it now either.

Here's another article. Unfortunately it's a bit more hysterical than the first. Gotta love local TV news.

http://www.kvue.com/news/green/stories/012108kvuecoppermeth-mm.4678d21e.html

[Rockholm]

4. Money. Copper is at an all time high right now.

Copper is being ripped out of homes under construction. I have heard of people being away for the winter and coming home to missing gutters and downspouts.

[MadHound]

5. Rough economic times, high prices for scrap copper

Voila, you've got people going out and ripping off copper wherever they can. AC units, stripping houses and buildings, pulling out pipes, on and on it goes. I read somewhere a few months back about somebody who was electrocuted trying to rip off copper electrical lines while they were still live and on the pole.

It's another sad sign of the desperate economic times we're in.

[Rockholm]

9. Ironic, Thief becomes his own executioner.

[proud2BlibKansan]

10. One of my co-workers had something stolen from underneath her car

in broad daylight. Police said it was for the copper.

[mrcheerful]

20. It was the catalytic converter its stolen because it has titanium in it

and the scrap yard pays $35 + for each one. Car batteries are another high scrap value, now $6 a battery. Theft of both are very common lately. What I'd like to know is, when I moved from my home city 4 years ago, someone stole a 14 ton foot bridge made from aluminum out of a public park, wtf?

[proud2BlibKansan]

21. 14 TONS!?!?!

Good grief, and I though the 8 tons from the munitions plant was bad. LOL

[mrcheerful]

24. Whats even more amazing is the perps got a way

with it and were never found. Though the cops do have 23 8X10 glossy photos of the tire tracks of the truck and trailer the perps used to get the bridge out once they got it apart. The cops believe that the perps used plasma torches and had access to a smelter to melt the metal down.

Edited to add......... Saginaw michigan Emmermin park, probably speeled wrong again lol.

[ieoeja]

52. If those cops make a bust, and the judge walks in with a seeing eye dog...

... those twenty-three 8x10 glossy photographs won't seem so hot. But at least they can still pop out to Alice's to get anything they want.

[mrcheerful]

58. Ahhhhh you got my joke. The funny thing is the cops did take lots and lots of photo's of the tire

tracks, foot prints and area, they showed it on the nightly news. The crime of the century type thing. The year before a guy got caught trying to sell one of those big rolls of wire Consumers Power sits out by the telephone poles. The numb nut tried to sell the whole thing at a local scrap yard. He got 10 years for his hard work, lol. Well it was hard work trying to roll that big roll up the ramp he made for his grandpa's flat bed truck lol.

[doc03]

32. Catalytic converters also contain a small amount of platinum

and it goes for something like $2000 an ounce.

[mrcheerful]

36. I forgot about that lol. What can I say? Its been a few years since I had a vehicle with one on it

and I am getting forgetful lately, now damn it where did my pants go. :rofl:

[EOTE]

46. I think the catalysts in the converters are typically platinum.

Palladium and rhodium are also used depending on the application. They're all precious metals.

[conscious evolution]

60. The stolen railroad bridge cracked me up.

Someone posted a link to the story here a while back.

Takes some balls to steal a whole bridge.

[mrcheerful]

63. See post #24 if you like missing bridge stories.

[Jamastiene]

69. I think I know who done (did) it.

Someone was trying to sell me a bridge just the other day. I'll bet it is the same people. Should I buy it and give it back to the cops or call the cops first?




























:hide:

:P


:evilgrin:

[hobbit709]

15. Some idiot here in Austin

tried to steal the copper from a live 80,000 volt transformer. He qualified for the Darwin Award.

[Jamastiene]

70. Was there much more than a grease spot left where he stood

before trying that?

[RedRocco]

8. copper is bringing almost $4 per lb

thefts of aluminum are up too. a lot of metal thieves here specialize in AC coils. they can pull up, hop out, have the coil and be gone in 5 minutes. catalytic converters are an attractive target as well, just a couple of quick cuts with a cordless sawz-all. catalytic converters bring about $40 each for scrap. when people are broke and desperate they do things like this.

[Quakerfriend]

12. 30 yrs ago, my sister had a house that was stripped of ALL copper

She had moved out and, it sat vacant for several months. She did end up selling the place.

[trof]

14. 70 bronze cemetary urns stolen.

Somewhere local, forget where.
The thieves tried to fence them at a salvage yard.
The yard said 'Um...no thanks.'
:eyes:

[proud2BlibKansan]

17. The scrap dealer in my OP

bought 8 TONS from these guys before he thought maybe something was up. LO

[cornermouse]

19. They sell it.

They stole some phone wire down here too. Also when a co-worker's father got sick and went to the hospital for a few days, thieves broke into his house and stole all the pipes. It's almost as bad as whatever it is they've been stealing from farmers to make meth from.

[mrcheerful]

22. Fertilizer because of the ammonia content. It takes a lot

of ammonia to make meth. Mixed with the other chemicals gives it a very storg oder which is a dead give a way that a meth lab is at the location. Btw, it has now become the thing, because of smell, for meth labs to be mobile, they put the crap in their trunks and cook the meth while driving around.

[melm00se]

23. it's not just copper

it's almost all forms of metal:

Iron (castings like manhole covers and sewer grates are popular targets)
Aluminum (beer companies have doubled the deposit per keg to keep them from disappearing)
Bronze (as pointed out earlier, bronze urns are going poof)
Plus the usual suspects of gold, silver and platinum

and a lot of it is driven by the increased demand in the far east: China and India and it will only get worse as more and more of those economies come "on line". Both countries will have to wire, plumb and build their countries, some of which have minimal (and in some cases zero) modern services, all of which require huge amounts of metals.

[cornermouse]

26. Huh.

I have a pile of old unusable fencing they could have to sell and they wouldn't even have to steal it.

[RedRocco]

29. dirty steel

cars, fridges, misc junk (like your fencing) was up over $8/100 lb last I heard. The last time I sold scrap was around 1990; It was $0.70/100 for dirty steel and copper was around $0.80 IIRC. Aluminum cans were higher then though.

[proud2BlibKansan]

33. Sell it and have a party!

I'll come!! :)

[Tesha]

37. Beer kegs aren't aluminum, they're stainless steel (so more valuable). (NT)

[conscious evolution]

61. Demand in the Far East?

I thought it was going into ammunition to kill Iraqis.

[conscious evolution]

62. Demand in the Far East?

I thought it was going into ammunition to kill Iraqis.

[OhioChick]

25. $$$$ n/t

[ProdigalJunkMail]

28. copper has been through the roof $$$ -wise

a buddy of mine (electrician type) said that copper wire is now the most common thing stolen from new constructions sites. One group was so bold as to literally steal installed wiring from the plenum space in a new office building...

wow

sP

[doc03]

30. "It's the economy stupid" That would be the growth

in the Chinese economy and the collapse of ours. I work in the steel industry and we pay over $500 a ton for scrap steel because there is such a demand for it in China it just keeps driving up prices. Raw steel coils are going for over $800 a ton today. The same goes for copper, brass, aluminum, gold, silver, coal, oil etc. I remember my dad talking about before WWII how the same thing happened when the Japanese and Germans were building up their war machine, today they are bombing our market with cheap products. There have been many houses stripped around here when their owners go away on vacation or Florida over the winter. They steal aluminum siding, gutters, wiring and copper pipes. Just yesterday someone took the wiring off the high school ballfield lights. There have also been some idiots that got killed trying to steal live wires.

on edit: I noticed yesterday the junk yard down the road is paying $170 a ton for junk cars, the last time I noticed maybe a couple months ago it was only $120.

[fed-up]

34. some local copper wire theft news stories

sorry not to have complete stories, as these are from our news archives and they want $2.95 for each story

With scrap prices soaring, thieves want PG&E's copper

Author: GREG WELTER - Staff Writer
Date: September 17, 2007
Publication: Chico Enterprise-Record (Chico, CA)
Article ID: 6915826

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. is scrambling to protect its copper and aluminum wire, which some thieves are willing to risk their lives to steal. The utility giant said five people have died in the United States over the last three years trying to cut high-voltage lines, with the intention of stealing wire. One of those deaths took place in California, said PG&E Senior Security Investigator James Moore.

Skyrocketing prices for copper, aluminum and other metals have made the...

Three arrested in attempt to steal copper wire

Author: GREG WELTER -Staff Writer
Date: August 13, 2007
Publication: Chico Enterprise-Record (Chico, CA)
Article ID: 6617156

OROVILLE -- Three Oroville residents were arrested early Monday morning on suspicion of attempting to steal copper wire from electrified lines along railroad tracks north of Oroville. The attempt was discovered about 4:20 a.m. when Union Pacific officials received a signal that lines used to operate signals and switching equipment were down in an area near Coal Canyon Road.

A railroad signalman was sent to the area and reported seeing flashlights along the tracks.
Butte County...

Letter: Meth addicts steal from farms

Author: Chico Enterprise-Record
Date: January 8, 2008
Publication: Chico Enterprise-Record (Chico, CA)
Article ID: 7917728

Although your recent article in the Sunday farm section, "Copper wiring thefts rattle farmers" came from the AP describing the problem in Michigan, the story could have easily been done locally. The recent assessment done by the Butte County Meth Strike Force regarding the impact of methamphetamine addiction on our local communities included an earful from the Farm Bureau folks regarding its relation to copper thefts. Like others around the country, Butte farmers are...

Local briefs

Author: Chico Enterprise-Record
Date: April 15, 2008
Publication: Chico Enterprise-Record (Chico, CA)
Article ID: 8928889

$500 wire theft leaves thousands of dollars in damage to home ORLAND -- The owner of a vacant home on County Road 25 said burglars broke into the residence sometime between March 30 and Saturday to strip it of copper wiring.

Leigh McDaniel said thieves made off with wire worth about $500, but did nearly $10,000 in damage to the home in the process.
A Glenn County Sheriff's Office report indicates that walls were battered with a blunt instrument to get at the copper.
The...

[Tinksrival]

35. Funny you should mention it.

I just read this yesterday in the local paper.

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/896964,6_1_NA16_STATE2_S1.article

Possible copper theft leads to electrocution

snip>>>>>

ST. CHARLES -- A 30-year-old man died of electrocution, authorities said, apparently while trying to remove copper wire from live electrical equipment.

The preliminary findings on the cause Robert J. Paluch's death over the weekend were issued Tuesday by the Kane County Coroner's Office. An autopsy on Paluch's body, which had to be identified through dental records, was performed Monday.

A police officer on patrol near the former Applied Composites building, 333 N. Sixth St., Sunday afternoon found the body of Paluch, of 1301 Lancaster Ave., according to the St. Charles Police Department.
The body was lying face down on top of a high voltage switch gear. Although the building is empty, it still has electrical service, Public Information Officer Paul McCurtain said.

A hacksaw and a hammer were located next to Paluch's body, and cuts were found in the switch gear's copper wiring, according to police.
McCurtain said there were more than 4,000 volts of electricity flowing through that switch gear.

<<<<<Snip



Is copper really worth it???

[DFW]

38. I find that positively shocking........

[Tinksrival]

42. Oh God!

ouch.....

[DFW]

48. Sorry, I couldn't resist.........

[dflprincess]

56. There have been a few houses in the Minneapolis area that have exploded

because thieves have stolen the copper pipes, but haven't turned the gas off.

Around here, people selling copper to scrap dealers do need to show ID - and apparently that has helped a little - but I'm starting to think they need to regulate the purchase of scrap metal. Really, isn't it a little suspicious if someone shows up at a scrap yeard with several footstones? And maybe someone selling copper pipes should have either show a contractor's license or prove they own the house the pipe came from.

[PVnRT]

39. We have places here offering big $$$ for old gold and silver

The economy is tanking and people are putting money into things that they don't make more of anymore, namely, metals that aren't iron-based.

[newportdadde]

40. Try doing some research.

Googling 'copper thefts' returns various articles on the subject.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=copper+thefts

Or just ask yourself why would someone want copper.. ow I don't know to maybe sell it?

Googling 'copper prices' returns

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=copper+prices

first link can take you to a various copper spot price charts.

[proud2BlibKansan]

44. Why should I do research when you are willing to do it for me?

:)

[spanone]

41. money money money money.......money...copper has gone way up in price

[guitar man]

43. here :)

[lonestarnot]

45. Even stealing it from small businesses.

They shut us down a few days. :grr:

[proud2BlibKansan]

49. They stole it out of a bunch of churches here

[Irishonly]

47. Money

A couple of people have died while stealing copper in CA, I believe. The electricity was not turned off. I just heard a little blip. MY dh husband says copper is worth a lot of money now.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

51. This happened YESTERDAY in San Diego County

Thieves Shut Down Escondido Trader Joes

Copper Tubing Taken From Store

POSTED: 6:23 am PDT April 16, 2008
UPDATED: 8:26 am PDT April 16, 2008

ESCONDIDO, Calif. -- Escondido police are looking for copper thieves who cost an Escondido Trader Joe's thousands of dollars.
Thieves broke in through the store's roof on Tuesday. They cut and took copper tubing going to the refrigeration unit, police said.

With no refrigeration, Trader Joe's lost about $80,000 worth of food.
The store was shut down for most of the day on Tuesday.

http://www.10news.com/news/15897187/detail.html

[proud2BlibKansan]

53. It's insane

I am worried about my home air conditioner now :scared:

[salin]

67. earlier this year the copper from freezers were stolen from a local food bank

in Indianapolis. Food spoied. It had been broken into several times - but the last time cameras had been put in and the theifs were caught.

I also had a first hand brush with this - my central airconditioning unit (outside the house) was stolen around christmas. Someone (folks?) drove a truck through the yard and lifted out the entire unit. The police said there has been an increase in such thefts - mostly for the copper in the units.

[KillCapitalism]

54. Round here the will steal any metal.

Copper, Aluminum, Iron, Tin, steel, you name it. Even if the shit is rusted out like crazy.

[Hannah Bell]

57. Oligopolistic metal markets & financial speculation in concert with

political uncertainty.

[SoCalDem]

59. recycle value...

better than soda cans...by miles

[AlCzervik]

64. copper has a good resale value, it's stolen and sold---just fell of the this morning.

[AngryOldDem]

66. Easy source of cash. n/t

[JNelson6563]

68. We will see more of this

Between the values of such metals increasing and the economy on the downturn, this is bound to occur more and more. Stripping buildings of copper wiring, not just for junkies anymore.

Julie

[Wizard777]

71. War always drives the price of metals up.

It's all Bombs, bullets, and armor. Unless the war is being run by Rumsfeld. Then it's all bombs and bullets. NO ARMOR FOR YOU!

[spinbaby]

72. This is a common problem in third-world countries

What does that say about our economy?

:shrug: