Posted on 10/17/2014 8:56:15 PM PDT by Morgana
FULL TITLE: Florida man arrested for 'stealing thousands of dollars worth of pipes and handles from restaurant bathrooms to sell to recycling centers'
Police say they've flushed out a man accused of stealing the handles and pipes of toilets in parks and restaurant restrooms around a Florida city.
St. Petersburg police said Friday that they arrested 28-year-old homeless man Brian Rinda. He is accused of stealing the plumbing from Cracker Barrel, Burger King, Bob Evans and other restaurants.
Police released a photo of a pile of metal toilet parts that they say Rinda stole.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
The recycle centers should ask where street bums come up with this shiny expensive stuff that is obviously stolen.
What good would that do, if the recycling centre already knows that they are bringing in stolen merchandise?
If they are sure that a crime has been committed and that another crime will be committed if they assume that they are buying stolen goods for pennies on the dollar, then something can be done.
Vandals still taking the handles?
Something can only be done if it has been reported. Most construction companies, if they are missing only a relative few pieces, will not bother reporting it because it’s not worth the hassle.
No, the dealer buying the obviously stolen good can do something, read the article.
I am a repair plumbing contractor and have taken lots of ugly brass and copper scrap in from all the things that I rip out and replace, and seen truckloads of beautiful new copper pipe, rolled pipe and fittings and valves that would never be recycled, and surely not from some unemployed tweaker types, that have been sold to the yards for scrap prices.
The dealer just kept letting the homeless guy bring it in, until the cops came and examined his records that he is required to keep.
He also stole the toilet from the police station in town. For a while there it left police with nothing to go on.
CC
NObody sees the genius in this theft ?
For a moment, disregard the illegality of theft and think ...
What could I steal ... a LOT of ... and probably never get caught ?
Now he DID get caught ... but after only being successful more than once .... and I'm going to guess, all in the same town.,
.OK ... now send him to jail .... but try to get into his head and see if there is not genius in there
Nothing to go on. That’s really funny.
He stole the toilet parts from a local marijuana dispensary.
Brought a different twist to the phrase “sh!t or get off the pot”.
/s
Eh, it’s a cheesy old joke one of my uncles used to tell. And it just happened to fit this story perfectly. God bless, uncle Bob.
CC
((rimshot))
Good one!
CC
He could have broke into an abandon home and stole all the copper while keeping a roof over his head while he is doing it.
The homeless around here with steal sections of guard rails from I 80 to sell at junk yards.......
In Texas repeat sellers of scrap are consider commercial sellers ... not just homeowners cleaning out the junk pile from time to time... And when selling have to show a photo ID that Democrats say they don’t have when it comes time to vote - but I digress ... These sellers also must sign the receipt given and the original kept by the scrap yard owner.
We had a house at the end of the block that had been renovated a few years ago. It was only vacant for a few months. The neighbors noticed water gushing out - someone had ripped out all the pipes - ruining the new wood floors, etc.
I met a guy that I saw a couple of times at a job site. They came by the dumpster and picked up the metal left by the side. I was talking to the guy and he said “Yeah - I used to be homeless. Now I have a house that I rent with guys, and own two trucks (the one I saw was worth maybe $600 - but still!) working to pick up scrap. Most of it is from shops that I have talked to and they leave it out for me. Others is just picking up crap that I see that has been tossed.”
He was just flush with success, so he let it all go to his head...
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