Frustrated by the repeated thefts of copper from construction sites, one builder is taking the Wild West approach to justice and putting a $10,000 bounty on the head of the thief responsible.
From New York's Staten Island Advance:
The bounty for turning in whoever is copping copper from construction sites on the South Shore has been doubled to a whopping $10,000 after new thievery came to light yesterday.
Builder Ed Nucci was going to show one of his houses on Wood Lane in Tottenville to a prospective buyer late in the afternoon when he discovered the copper baseboard heaters had been ripped out of the basement.
"Whoever it was had to know plumbing, because they did a clean job taking it off," said Nucci, as detectives from the South Shore's 123rd Precinct searched the home....
A frustrated Nucci decided to reach out to friend and fellow builder John Galarza, owner of New York City Investment Properties, whose house under construction on Rathbun Avenue was gutted last week of its copper piping and hot tub.
Stirred by the emotional and financial hardships the copper thefts are creating for his colleagues, Galarza said is he increasing his initial reward of $5,000 for information leading to the capture of the culprit.
"I want this guy caught," said Galarza, who stopped by Nucci's job site to sympathize with his buddy. "Now it's $10,000. That's more than any copper is worth."
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