Scrap metal is big money. Ask any real estate agent around town and they will tell you, one of the greatest problems they face with regards to vacant homes is the theft of the copper plumbing pipes, which are worth quite a lot of money at local scrap yards. But while MSU is not a vacant home by any stretch of the imagination, it appears the university was still vulnerable to a thief who allegedly stole metals from campus.
Jeffrey James Pollock, a 33-year-old resident of Dewitt, was recently charged with five felonies for allegedly stealing in excess of $20,000 worth of copper and other metals that can be scrapped for cash. The metals were all stolen from buildings on Michigan State University’s campus, where Pollock worked previously as a temporary employee.
Pollock was arraigned in the 54-B District Court in East Lansing on four counts of larceny in a building, which is a felony punishable by up to ten years and a possible fine of $15,000.00 or 3 times the value of the stolen property. He was also charged with a single count of embezzlement between $20,000 and $50,000, which is also a felony and punishable by imprisonment of up to ten years and the same amount in fines. Pollock was granted a $10,000 personal recognizance bond, which he has since posted.
Current copper reserves are still plentiful, but will not be able to sustain the present rate of consumption, which is why recycling copper has become such a profitable enterprise. High demand of this malleable metal has meant that the recent prices of recycled copper are now almost 90% of the cost of the new copper.
The downside of this, of course, is that theft has increased significantly in recent years, with the most common being the stripping of vacant homes for their copper plumbing pipes, wiring and air conditioning units which contain copper.
A new law introduced last year, attempted to address this issue here in Michigan by putting a $25 cap on cash for metal exchanges and requiring that scrap yards mail all payments to an address provided by the seller in order to reduce “quick cash” thefts and provide a paper trail for investigators.