LONG TERM SCRAP YARD INVESTIGATION RESULTS IN INDICTMENTS FOR ACCEPTING PROHIBITED OR STOLEN PROPERTY

Posted on 2/5/2016

Defendant: New World Recycling, Yujian Wang, PSC Metals, Jeremy Webster, Masser Metals & Recycling, G-Cor Automotive, Adam Greenblott, Sims Brothers Recycling, A to Z Recycling, Inc., Lin Wang, Xiaodong Qu

The Columbus Division of Police, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office are proud to announce the result of the first ever under-cover compliance investigation in the nation focused specifically on all scrap yards within a single large municipality. The Franklin County Grand Jury returned six indictments this week after hearing the details of this extensive investigation.

            The Columbus Division of Police conducted a city-wide undercover investigation which was comprised in part of selling specialized copper wire and railroad material to the scrap yards.  Some of the scrap yards knowingly violated the law which led to these indictments.  The specialized scrap included, burnt wire, railroad materials, AT&T communication wire and copper and aluminum wire from American Electric Power (AEP).

            One of the six scrap metal indictments was for “Engaging in a Pattern of Corrupt Activity” commonly known as RICO.  At this scrap yard, 56 Veteran Grave Markers from a Union Cemetery were recovered. Some of the markers had been destroyed by the scrap yard and were not able to be returned to Union Cemetery.    There were 87 different beer kegs recovered. There were 409 storage bins that belong to Family Dollar and CVS. Pepsi Co was able to recover 782 shells for 2 liter bottles. Coke was able to recover 317 shells and 7UP was able to recover 382.  There were 7,800 pounds of shredded plastics recover in bins. Almost 4 tons of Pepsi, Coke and 7UP property was shredded to be ship to China.

            Pepsi Co reported a loss of $100,000 in the central Ohio area in the year of 2013. All three companies now charge a deposit on these shells to the grocery stores their items are sold in. This charge is passed on to the public. There were 50 milk crates and over a hundred bread trays recovered. All of these items are clearly marked Property of (THE COMPANY NAME).

The City of Columbus enacted first of its kind legislation which for the first time required electronic reporting of items purchased by scrap yards, prohibited the purchase of certain items, and helped to create the “Do Not Buy From Convicted Thieves” list.  This legislation was subsequently adopted by the State of Ohio and the statewide “Do Not Buy From Convicted Thieves” registry lists the names of nearly 300,000 individuals.  As part of this investigation, three of the scrap yards purchased prohibited material from individuals who were barred from selling due to being listed on the “Do Not Buy From Convicted Thieves List”.

            “The theft of railroad materials and communication lines are not only crimes but can also create significant public safety hazards.  The scrap metal facilities that contribute to this theft will be brought to justice” said Ronald J. O’Brien, Franklin County Prosecutor.

 

Media Contact:

 

Detective Jack Addington

Columbus Division of Police

Property Crimes Bureau

120 Marconi Blvd.

Columbus, OH 43215

(614)645-2328

 

Prosecutor Ronald J. O’Brien

Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office

373 S. High St., 14th floor

Columbus, OH 43215

(614)525-3555

 

Robert McGuire, Vice President

Alpha Baking Company

5001 W. Polk Street

Chicago, IL 60644

(773)797-3206

 

Nicholas Popa

Corporate Director of Media and Public Relations

Pepsi Co.

614/255-6762

[email protected]