Scrap metal thieves hit apt house twice

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WIVB) - Scrap metal thieves have become bolder in recent years, prompting a crackdown by property managers and authorities.

So far, the crackdown has been more effective in a business or industrial setting, because security is usually a lot tighter. But that seems to have pushed some to steal copper from home and apartments.

In Niagara Falls, someone stole around 70 feet of copper pipes worth around $500 at an apartment house while the tenants were upstairs asleep.

Rainbow Properties property manager Brian McNair said, "Tenant turned around, woke up in the morning, and he had no water."

McNair said it was the second time in three months the pipes were ripped out. The first time the pipes were stolen, the thief ran off empty-handed.

"I replaced that section of copper piping and then marked it, so that at least we knew what it was, so if it came up missing again, at least we can identify possibly where it could have been," McNair explained.

Metal thieves are stealing copper pipes, copper wiring, aluminum siding and other valuable metals.

Jon Marantz, General Manager of Niagara Metals, said, "Unfortunately, you have the 'perfect storm' right now of high metal prices, high unemployment, and unfortunately, a large segment of the population is addicted to narcotics, and that drives a lot of this."

Marantz said a recent state law deters some scrap thieves.

"Before we pay the customer, we have to make sure that we have a valid ID, we have a copy of the customer's ID, we take a picture of the customer getting paid, and customer signs for the cash," Marantz explained.

But stolen scrap is still getting through and McNair has even tried marking the copper pipes by painting them as a deterrent.

"People were living there, and the next thing you know, you don't know what happened to it," he said. "It is a four-unit building, but mysteriously, all the copper piping comes up missing out of the basement?"

So this time, McNair is replacing the copper pipes with PVC, which is practically worthless to scrappers.