Legislators to move on scrap metal bill after Saugus thefts

SAUGUS – The day police announced it had nabbed two suspects in the theft of more than 600 flag holders from Riverside cemetery, Veterans Council President Douglas Cooper got on the phone to his state delegation.
Cooper, who was livid over what he saw as the desecration of veterans’ graves, wants legislation passed that would hold scrap yard owners accountable for what they accept as junk.
“My plan is to probably look at what the pawn shop law is and mimic it with ties to veterans’ markers,” he said.
Roughly 680 aluminum flag holders were stolen from veterans’ graves last week and while police have identified three suspects, the markers themselves have been scrapped.
Cooper is angry that scrap metal dealers are not more vigilant in what they accept.
Sen. Thomas McGee agrees.
As co-chairman of the Veterans and Federal Affairs Committee McGee along withRep. Anthony Verga (D-Gloucester), House Veterans Committee chairman are asking scrap metal dealers to think twice about what they accept.
McGee said working in conjunction with the scrap metal dealers and cemeteries, his plan is to eliminate the market for items such as veteran markers. If scrap dealers deny would be thieves, McGee said he hopes there would be no more thefts like the one at Riverside.
Unfortunately the robbery is not unique to Saugus. Cooper said since the theft at Riverside he’s heard of several other communities hit by the same trouble.
Which is why McGee, Verga and Rep. Mark Falzone (D-Saugus) are pushing to see a program that would call for identification of an individualwho takes copper, brass or any type of high value metal to a scrap yard, similar to the regulations that exist for pawn shops.
According to Falzone, Senate Bill 2371, introduced bySen. James Timilty (D-Walpole) which was passed in 2007 by the Consumer and Professional Licensure Committee, would require such identification.
Falzone said the bill would also encompass items such as metal stolen from construction sites, like the Longfellow Bridge ironwork, which was stolen last summer and sold for scrap.
Cooper is adamant about seeing the law change because he believes the current laws are not strong enough. State law makes the willful destruction of a veteran’s grave marker or metal plaque, veteran’s flag holder or flag punishable by jail in the state prison for no more than five years or for no more than two-and-a-half years in conjunction with a fine of no more than $5,000. However, the removal of flags and memorial tokens without proof of destruction is only considered a misdemeanor and punishable by a fine of no more than $1,000 or six months in jail.
“Desecration of any grave, especially a veteran’s grave, is repugnant. These are men and women who were willing to sacrifice everything for their country,” McGee said. “We cannot let their legacies be tarnished by these outrageous attacks, and they must stop.”
“We’re taking action swiftly and strongly and we’re hoping for fast action,” Falzone said. “We hope it will take away the market for this kind of theft.”