2,000 graveside brass or bronze vases have been stolen in South Florida

2,000 graveside brass or bronze vases have been stolen in South Florida since November, most in Palm Beach County, according to Dan Perrin, president of the Florida Funeral Directors Association. To combat the thefts, Florida lawmakers this session are considering a bill that would require dealers to obtain and maintain more information on sellers, upgrade the crime from a misdemeanor to a felony, and make all dealers' information releasable by the Department of Revenue.
Chris Bedell, a spokesman for the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries' southern region, which includes Florida, said the bill has moved fast through the House and is expected to be approved this session. If all goes on schedule, the new law could be in effect by the end of summer, he said.
The legislation is a result of business owners in different industries becoming concerned about the thefts, Bedell said.
Harold Solomon, a Hollywood metals recycler, said he welcomes the proposed law. He instituted similar guidelines at his business a few years ago.
"It would be a good thing for us in the industry," Solomon said.
The list of materials thieves have stolen is widespread, according to law enforcement.
-Brass valves have been stolen from building waterlines and sprinkler systems in the past 12 months in Palm Beach and Broward counties.
Boynton Beach police arrested three Miami-Dade County men in September and charged them with stealing train rails.
Between May and August, thieves unhooked and stole several thousand dollars worth of flush valves from toilets in public parks and fast-food restaurants in Broward County. Suspects were arrested at the end of August. On Friday thieves stole copper water pipes and pipes to the water heater from the Delray Beach restaurant Chez Sabine. The owner told police it has happened before.
In the Tampa Bay area in January, thieves went into a cemetery vault and stole metal artificial body parts of people who had been cremated, according to The Associated Press. Two men have been arrested on suspicion of selling the 2,000 pounds of parts to a scrap yard for about $5,400.
Now, catalytic converters are being taken from cars, said Bruce Savage, spokesman for the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc., a national trade association based in Washington, D.C. Vacant homes in Foreclosure have also attracted thieves, who have gone into the unguarded properties and stripped appliances of copper and other metals.
While many local suspects have drug histories, police said, others have stolen simply for the quick cash. Insiders are also among the accused: a Broward County School District electrical supervisor was charged in November with ordering $270,000 worth of surplus copper wiring and selling some of it. "They [thieves] are becoming more inventive with stealing materials, because they're motivated by money," Savage said. "We have seen an uptick, as these commodity prices have continued to rise worldwide."The trade association and its regional chapters have long encouraged their members to work with law enforcement to cap the thefts, Savage said. The association's guidelines call for recyclers to ask customers for their driver's licenses, to take photos of the materials being purchased, and to require customers to sign an affidavit stating they obtained the metals legally.
At Palm Beach Metal Inc., west of West Palm Beach, an elaborate system of cameras records customers from the moment they unload heaps of metal onto scales to the point when they cash out. Identification is required, and employees take photos of the metal brought in. The scrap metal buyers sometimes reject sales from suspicious clients, Palm Beach Metal President John Caruso said.
"If someone drives in on a bicycle with 200 pounds of [copper] wire, we're going to ask 'Where did you get it?' If they say 'I found it in a canal out front,' we're not going to buy it," Caruso said.
"The majority of people who come in here are doing everything correct, but you have the few who come in and spoil it," he said.