City Council cracks down on house scrappers
8/12/2014Toledo City Council turned up the heat on illegal house scrappers today with tougher penalties.
The ordinance, introduced by the Collins Administration, allows persons convicted of stripping metal from houses to be put on a state-run “do not buy” list that prevents them from selling to pawn shops and scrap yards.
The measure passed 10-0 with two councilmen absent. The ordinance allows law enforcement to maintain a list of people “known to be thieves or receivers of stolen property,” and pawn shops and scrap dealers are barred from buying material from anybody on that list.
City Neighborhoods Director Tom Kroma said if the metal stolen from a house, such as copper tubing, wiring, and siding, fits the definition of metal-stripping under state law, police can have the vehicle used in the theft impounded.
A second ordinance accepts a $20,000 grant from the Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing to pay rewards of up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest or conviction of anyone for stealing or illegally salvaging from a house in Toledo.
Contact Tom Troy: tomtroy@theblade.com or 419--724-6058 or an Twitter @TomFTroy.