Stolen manhole covers, catch basins grates plaguing Saugus

SAUGUS – Department of Public Works Director Joe Attubato expressed his anger Tuesday after scrap thieves stole another 10 manhole covers and catch basin grates around Saugus overnight Monday.?They hit Wakefield and Melrose too,” said Attubato. “I can?t believe it. They took 10 just in one night. Can you imagine that?”Thieves stole most of the missing covers from around East Saugus, including Endicott Street, Harlow Street and Seagirt Avenue. Others were stolen in Cliftondale Square, the Oaklandvale section of Saugus and near the Senior Center.This recent rash of thefts comes about two weeks after three covers were stolen in mid-October, Attubato said.Many of the missing covers have been replaced at a cost of around $200 each, while the rest of the open holes left by the stolen covers are covered by a 2-foot by 2-foot, 2-inch thick steel plate to prevent people from walking into them or cars from driving over them.?We were lucky we had some in stock and we replaced those right away,” said Attubato. “We ordered a dozen more. That costs the town another $2,000 to $3,000.”Assistant Police Chief Leonard Campanello said patrols are on the lookout for anything suspicious and police are trying to track down the missing grates.?We?re engaging in patrols in order to try and decrease the chance that this can happen,” said Campanello. “We also have our detective units looking into where these items might have been dropped off for scrap metal.”Attubato said some of missing grates, known as “D-frame” grates, were so old they don?t make them anymore, and new frames and grates had to be ordered to update them.?That?s going to cost a few bucks,” said Attubato.Cast iron sells for around $1.70 a pound at scrap yards, and missing covers weigh about 150 pounds each, Attubato said.?Junk yards should be accountable for taking in these kinds of thing,” said Attubato. “They know they?re stolen. Common sense tells you that, but they can say they don?t know it?s stolen property. What they may be doing is cutting them up in small pieces with an acetylene torch and selling them that way.”Steve Solomon, owner of Solomon Metals in Lynn, said people in the scrap industry have been trying to have tougher laws passed to prevent metal theft.?Our industry is working very closely at this point with state legislatures to draft a law where the industry would keep much better track of who sells any metal and be sure that stolen materials are not bought,” said Solomon.While the grates are heavy, they?re not attached to the ground and can be wedged out with a crow bar and some muscle. Attubato said he thought about having them welded into place, but that would make cleaning them out that much harder.?We could tack weld them,” said Attubato. “But when we go to clean them out in the spring, that could be a bit of a problem. If we tack weld them, and it?s not a good tack, the culprits would be able to break that anyhow.”Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected]. You can follow him on Twitter @MattTempesta.