A monthlong investigation into the theft of tens of thousands of dollars in copper wire resulted in the arrest of five individuals, a joint task force announced last week.
Menands police, in conjunction with the state police Bureau of Criminal Investigation, National Grid security, CSX Transportation security and Rensselaer and Albany County sheriffs’ departments announced the arrest of five individuals who in December 2006 allegedly stole nearly $100,000 in copper wire from several National Grid sites.
Arrested were: Ian A. Dell, 18, of Averill Park, Quinn A. Lashway, 18, and Reed Lashway, 17, both of East Greenbush, and the group’s alleged ringleader, Jeremy J. Roberts, 23, of Averill Park.
All have been arrested on felony charges of grand larceny and criminal mischief, including misdemeanor trespassing and possession of burglary tools.
According to police, the four went on a monthlong spree, raiding National Grid’s main yard in Troy and several substations throughout Albany County.
Roberts, who has run into legal problems before for stealing precious metal utilities and selling them for scrap, was caught in the act Dec. 10 at the utility company’s main facility in Troy, said police.
They entered the National Grid property, cut spools (of wire) into lengths they could carry and burn in under darkness, said Menands Police Chief Michael O’Brien.
The four arrested allegedly cut through the gates of the National Grid sites and, using industrial cutting tools stolen from a CSX rail yard in Selkirk, cut thousand-yard spools of 1-1/4-inch copper wire into roughly 1-foot lengths. They would return the next day, cut through the gates and collect the bounty. It was then taken to hilltops in Rensselaer County and burned to remove the rubber shields, said police.
`It was a rural area, and they did it under the cover of darkness so no one would notice the smoke,` said Craig R. Masterson, security manager of National Grid’s eastern branch.
The raw copper was initially taken to local scrap yards to be traded in. After a while, the group began transporting the metal to New York City to fetch a better price, said police.
Under state law, the scrap yards kept records of the transactions. Police were able to determine that the four were collecting anywhere from $300 to $400 a trip. In a month they had made approximately $100,000, said Masterson.
Roberts allegedly recruited the others to help him collect and transport the stolen metals to scrap dealers, police said.
In December 2006, police put National Grid’s Troy site under surveillance once the utility company realized that the 1,000-foot spools were missing. In a December sting, Menands and state police caught Roberts with two, 1,000-foot spools cut up and ready to be put into awaiting vehicles.
Roberts has since been indicted by Albany County. The other three suspects have been placed under arrest. More arrests could come as the investigation continues, said O’Brien.
Dell and the Lashways are facing up to seven years in state prison if convicted, said Albany County prosecutor Lawrence Wiest. Roberts could serve between six and 18 years in prison for his role in the thefts, Wiest said.
A recent check at metalprices.com showed copper prices to be at $2.72 per pound.
As prices for precious metals increases, thefts like those at the National Grid site will continue, said police. Other utility companies and telecommunication companies like Verizon have also experienced recent thefts of expensive cable.
Nationally, thefts of utility and wire spurred the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to urge state and local law enforcement to work together with utility companies to deter the thefts of the metals, copper in particular.
According to the department, seven individuals were electrocuted last year when attempting to steal copper wire from electrical power generation or substation facilities.“
