BOSTON -The Massachusets Senate unanimously passed a bill yesterday members said will help police crack down on the illegal sale of stolen metals such as copper tubing.
The bill would establish a registry of "secondary metal" dealers that would be available to police and investigators, and it would require such dealers to keep detailed records of their transactions.
Lawmakers cited the increase in foreclosed and abandoned property as ripe for theft. The bill would prohibit metals dealers from accepting "any street sign, manhole cover, beer keg, propane container for fueling forklifts, street light, guard rail, water meter cover, railroad track, railroad spike, funeral or memorial marker, any metal item bearing the mark of any government entity, utility company or brewer, or copper wire, the insulation around which such dealer knew, or reasonably should have known, had been burned or stripped away." A first-time violator would be punished with a $2,500 fine of 2.5 years in a house of correction, and second offenses could result in fines up to $10,000 or five years in prison. A third violation would result in the revocation of the dealer's license.
