" When it is stolen...we go stake out the box to see who is coming by....You can imagine what happens next" No I can't, what do you do break a leg or some fingers? For someone who has been preaching about permits and laws and the like since you came on I dont find that comment funny. You seem to be for alot more regulation by the cities and govt when it come to scrappers. Just remember without us, some of the yards that peolpe here sell to dont make there quotas to the larger yards. As far as someone getting arrested, fined and truck impounded I think that is the job of the nyc sanitaion police. The nypd is not going around looking for someone removing scrap from the sidewalk(trust me I come from a family of city cops) Most likely your guy was stopped because of the fact that it was a private carting truck that removed scrap from a public sidewalk and not from one of your dumpsters.