Copper pipes from hospital’s plumbing is stolen

Copper pipes from hospital’s plumbing is stolen
Thursday, August 12, 2010
LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY AUGUST 12, 2010, 1:22 AM
BY MOLLIE GRAY
VERONA-CEDAR GROVE TIMES
MANAGING EDITOR
Four teenagers were arrested and charged with stealing 600 pounds of copper pipe from the old Essex County Hospital Center, according to local and county law-enforcement officials.

The arrests occurred just after midnight on July 30, when a Verona police officer noticed a vehicle parked at the Verona Community Pool, according to a police report. The officer questioned one of the individuals returning to the vehicle, and contacted the Essex County Sheriff’s Department.

The individuals were taken into custody and charged with third-degree burglary, third-degree theft, conspiracy, defiant trespass and possession of burglar tools, sheriff’s department spokesman Kevin Lynch said.

They were released to their parents, county officials said.

The pipes were part of the hospital’s plumbing system, according to police. The youths, who are ages 16 and 17 and from Bergen County, did not tell police what they were planning to do with the pipes, Verona Police Chief Doug Huber said.

"I would assume they were going to sell it," Huber said. "It is common where people will try to take copper from job sites or buildings because of value of money you can get from the copper."

Huber could not provide a value of the stolen materials. He said the pipes were turned over to the sheriff’s department as evidence.

Lynch said the items collectively weighed about 600 pounds, but could not estimate their total worth.

The Essex County Hospital Center, located in Cedar Grove, is an abandoned psychiatric hospital. The site is often featured on popular television series that focus on the paranormal.

Lynch said the sheriff’s department frequently arrests people who hunt for ghosts at the site, but not for stealing copper.

"It’s not a common practice, although there have been isolated incidences where people have broken into the hospital center," he said. "We’ve made primarily a number of arrests of juveniles who think it’s haunted. They seem to frequent it late at night unfortunately."

In Cedar Grove, police are investigating the theft of copper grounding bars for the cell tower located behind the rescue squad headquarters on Pompton Avenue.

Someone entered the locked compound and removed eight bars having a total value of $560, according to a police report.

The detective bureau is conducting a follow-up investigation.

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Original Link: www.northjersey.com/news/crime_c ... tolen.html

here is a picture of the stolen copper. this pipe was one of 2 that ran all the way down the halllway. now its gone

We talked about those pipes when we were there in July...about how large in diameter they were and that it was amazing that no thieves had taken them over the years...It's occurances like this make what we have so much fun doing (UE), and appreciate so much (the architecture, the history, etc.) that much more difficult to do. Pisses me off.....