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| -Lurid Crime Tales- |
| Man charged in bid to sell veterans grave markers to recycler |
| 2008-03-23 |
| A 47-year-old East Greenwich man was arrested this week after attempting to sell brass markers stolen from veterans' gravesites in Gloucester County, officials said. Edward Wentz tried to sell 11 markers, 10 of which were for military veterans, to a recycling firm here on March 6, police said. He would have made $500 off the sale, but a worker at the firm, Cumberland Recycling Corp., became suspicious, officials said. Instead of issuing Wentz a check, he asked for further proof that the markers were his. Wentz said he would bring back a letter, but never did. The employee then contacted police. Because Cumberland Recycling Corp. provided police with Wentz's name and license plate number, filing charges against Wentz was "just a matter of tracking him down," said Millville Police Lt. Tom Romanishin. Investigators also discovered the markers had been stolen from Hillcrest Memorial Cemetery in Washington Township, Romanishin said. Romanishin would not say how that was determined or how the markers were stolen. George Luciano, president of Cumberland Recycling Corp., said people often attempt to sell stolen metal to his company because of record high prices. Luciano's company buys from about 600 people a day, he said, and is buying brass at $2 a pound. "(The prices are) the highest they've ever been," he said. "Everybody wants to be in the scrap business now." In order to combat buying stolen items, those selling metal are required to show a form of identification and are paid by check, Luciano said. Employees are also trained to keep an eye out for unusual items like grave markers, manhole covers and storm drains. "We have certain items on our hit list that put a red flag up for us," he said. "If it's a private person, he shouldn't have manhole covers." Wentz was charged with receiving stolen property and taken to Cumberland County Jail on $15,000 bail. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #1 Hang 'im. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2008-03-23 20:09 |