Free Republic

POINCIANA, Fla.,- Authorities in Florida said they arrested a man accused of stealing 166 steel manhole covers and attempting to sell them as scrap. The Polk County Sheriff's Office said Christopher Fink, 40, was arrested Thursday after the Toho Water Authority reported $22,000 worth of manhole covers missing Wednesday in Poinciana -- and Fink was caught attempting to sell the covers at local metal dealers, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Friday. Fink was charged with felony counts of grand theft, dealing in stolen property and giving false verification to a secondhand metal dealer. The sheriff's office said more charges...

(04-09) 16:37 PDT SAN JOSE -- Vandals cut fiber-optic cable lines belonging to AT&T at two locations early today, knocking out phones and access to 911 emergency services to thousands of residential customers and businesses in southern Santa Clara County, in Santa Cruz and San Benito counties and along the Peninsula, authorities said. Four AT&T fiber-optic cables in an underground vault were severed shortly before 1:30 a.m. along Monterey Highway north of Blossom Hill Road in south San Jose, police Sgt. Ronnie Lopez said. Four more underground cables, at least two of which belong to AT&T, were cut about two...

Roman police find sewer children The children were found in sewers close to railway stations Italian police have found more than 100 immigrants, including 24 Afghan children, living in the sewer system beneath railway stations in Rome. The children range in age from 10 to 15 years and are now being looked after by the city's social services. They were found when the railway police followed up reports of children living near the city's stations. The police say they do not speak Italian and broke into the sewers by removing manhole covers. The charity Save the Children Italy says that...

Thieves Steal More Than 40 Manhole Covers in English City Mar 11, 2004 The Associated Press GLOUCESTER, England (AP) - If Dr. Foster of nursery rhyme fame went to Gloucester today, he would have more to worry about than falling into puddles. A gang of thieves has stolen more than 40 manhole covers in the southwestern English city, leaving dangerous holes in the streets, officials said Thursday. The cast-iron covers and grates were taken late Wednesday or early Thursday, said Gloucester City Council spokesman Marcus Grodentz. It could cost up to $50,000 to replace the covers, with some units having...