Thieves dismantle, cart off steel bridge in Pennsylvania

[sinkingfeeling]

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/07/thieves-dismantle-cart-off-steel-bridge-in-pennsylvania/?hpt=hp_t2

Metal theft is not a new phenomenon in the U.S., nor is it a surprising one given the state of the economy. But a thief or group of thieves in North Beaver Township, Pennsylvania, has raised the bar by stealing a 50-foot-long by 20-foot-wide bridge for scrap metal, according to Pennsylvania State Police.

Bridge theft, while certainly rare, is not unheard of. In 2008, a group of Russian thieves managed to dismantle and haul off a 200-ton, 38-foot steel bridge in just one night, according to a report from Britain's Daily Mail.

[Booster]

1. Well, that's one way to fix our infrastructure. Steal it. lol

[liberal N proud]

3. Good point

[Taverner]

2. This should be on Maher's segment "How fucked are we?"

[Altoid_Cyclist]

4. Metal tends to disappear in large chunks in this state.

WINDBER, Pa. -- Police in Somerset County are trying to figure out how a radio tower went missing in Windber. Police say a group of people had a very thorough plan to get all 120 feet of steel and copper down from the old Windber radio tower.

Police believe the thieves threw cables over the guidelines of the tower and yanked it down with a truck. Police also found cut bolts and torch marks on nearby grass. Police say the tower had to be cut into small pieces in order to get it out of the wooded area, but they can't figure out how they did it without anybody noticing.

"There's probably a half a dozen routes that come in and out of that area. At least 20 four-wheelers and ATV riders go through there a day," said Paint Township Police Chief Rick Skiles.

The thieves also got away with a 300-pound Penelec transformer full of copper.

Rest of story here:

http://www.wjactv.com/news/17432092/detail.html

[democrank]

5. Oh, my....

I`ve scrapped metal before but never an entire bridge or a 300-pound Penelec transformer. Getting an aluminum screen door out of the February ice with a pick axe was about all I could handle. Got to hand it to these folks.... they may be criminals, but they`re industrious criminals.

[Shandris]

7. "OH no one is starving!"

"The only ones out there are people who don't want to work!"

How do you say that with a straight face when people are stealing BRIDGES (!) ?!? That's more work than most 'employed' workers do in a week!

[Skidmore]

6. People are stealing copper again too in this

area. Know of one case of this type of theft this week.