“Some workers in a southeast side business park showed up for work only to learn they had no water. Thieves had stolen much of their copper piping, leaving the complex with no water. Pima County Sheriff’s Deputies went to the Butterfield Business complex where thieves had vandalized businesses and left them literally high and dry. Deputies took reports from four businesses where backflow preventers were cut and stolen. These pipes are made of copper and brass. The businesses were without water for several hours. Kenny Sobczak works for Abacus Plumbing he says “Someone came thru here and stole a couple of one inch back flows and putting us to work today.” Abacus isn’t the only company working at this complex, next door Tucson Plumbing is also hard at work replacing stolen copper pipes and brass valves. At another business Curtis plumbing is just as busy. John Brooks of Brooks Associates Racing says this isn’t the first time their complex has been hit. …The plumbers say thieves knew what they were doing they had the right tools to cut the pipes so they didn’t damage the pipes they were stealing. One company lost more than just the copper tubing outside its building. They manufacture scientific equipment so without water, without bathrooms, and without safety precautions, they had to send their staff home. So to prevent this from happening again, a vandal cage will be installed. Kenny Sobczak says, “It stops the people from stealing because they don’t spend time breaking into the cage, its easy to cut a copper line, its not easy to break a lock into a cage.” And business owners hope the thieves stop breaking the law…”
News 4 HD, May 13, 2009
Source: http://www.kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=10344156&nav=HMO6
