Another crazy story

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/c...a4bcf6878.html



Copper sword atop Lincoln's Tomb is stolen

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. Thieves have nabbed a 3-foot-long copper sword atop Lincoln's Tomb in what is believed to be the first theft at the site in more than a century.
An employee noticed last week that the sword was cut from a statue of a Civil War artillery officer, the (Springfield) State Journal-Register (http://scrapmetalforum.com/sxWgJm ) reported Saturday. Officials think the sword was stolen sometime between September and early November.
Nothing had been stolen from the Springfield site, which is the final resting place of Abraham Lincoln, since the sword on the same statue was taken more than 100 years ago, said Dave Blanchette, a spokesman for the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Then, the sword was bronze.
"We just cannot imagine why someone would even think about doing it, let alone climb up the steps and actually do it," Blanchette said.
The statue is on the tomb's balcony, which is closed to visitors. Workers would likely have spotted a thief during the day, but no one guards the tomb at night, Blanchette said.
A security guard was posted overnight after a 1987 incident in which racist graffiti was spray-painted on the tomb. Five teenagers were arrested. But budget cuts ended that position within a few years of the incident, he said.
The rest of the statue was unharmed. Officials plan to fix the statue, Blanchette said.



These thieves are getting more and more brazen every day. Who the F does this especially to one of the greatest presidents in the history of USA. Sometimes being in this industry and hearing these stories makes me want to vomit.

I just read that little bit ago and was commenting on it. Crazy stuff!

That theft is not the work of a scraper , A scraper might at first want to take all sorts of things, but the risk of ruining there ability to sell to a yard is not worth it, let along getting arrested , Also a scraper starts to catch on that there are more then enough ways to get all sorts of metals for free or low cost. Why risk it . Me knowing what I just said i would not risk it for 20 LBS bronze. Now I realize some parts of America just are not as abundant with available items . Then lets face it when the ride is over it is over ,time for some different type of work. But to only steal for your source of scrap thats just plain stupid.

That theft is not the work of a scraper ,

I'd disagree.

Elsewhere on the internet recently, there was a discussion about where to find an "honest" plumber. The participants related stories about how they'd been given estimates of thousands of dollars to replace lots of stuff, when in actuality, a few basic items needed replaced, and the cost was minimal. Obviously, the guys trying to take advantage of the unknowing customers are theives, but I don't think you could make the case that they're not plumbers....

more likely a vandal/theif/punk-scrapper all rolled into one.

Yep.

There are scrappers who are theives, just as there are plumbers who are theives, just as there are lawyers who are theives. That's why it's constant battle for the honest members of any such group to counter the bad reputation that's deserved by the bad apples....