Lawrence police seek N.H. man in stolen metal scheme

By J.J. Huggins
Staff writer

March 14, 2008 06:21 am

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LAWRENCE — Lawrence police have issued arrest warrants for a New Hampshire man suspected of being involved in the sale of hundreds of dollars worth of stolen metal.

Police are seeking Roger Lampi Jr., 43, of 27 Vine St., Nashua, N.H. They have two warrants for his arrest.

Police said he sold $546 worth of stolen aluminum last week, and then returned to the same place this week and tried to sell another $800 worth. The man's latest attempt sparked suspicion.

"He gives us four different versions of how he came into possession of this stuff," police Chief John Romero said yesterday.

Detectives began investigating Tuesday morning after Robert Costello of Winfield Alloys on Medford Street reported a man trying to sell a large amount of aluminum, according to a report by Detective Brian Burokas.

Police arrived and saw Lampi in a blue Chevrolet pickup truck. Lampi said he got the aluminum up the street, then said he got it from a friend in Nashua, then said he got it from a friend in Rochester, N.H., who was closing his sheet metal shop. He could not provide a name or address of the friend, Burokas said in his report.

Lampi then said he received the metal from a man who brought it to his yard.

The aluminum was in a cardboard box with a shipping label from the metal distributor All Metals, with a purchase order to send the aluminum to their customer, April Industries of Hudson, N.H.

Police met with a man from April Industries who looked at the aluminum and said it belonged to his company. Police took him to Winfield Alloys, where he identified another 781 pounds of aluminum that also belonged to April Industries, police said.

Lampi scrapped the 781 pounds at Winfield Alloys on March 7 in return for $546. Costello told police Lampi would have been paid about $800 for the shipment he tried to sell there on Tuesday.

Both of the aluminum shipments made to April Industries then disappeared, and were then brought to Winfield Alloys by Lampi, according to Romero.

April Industries paid $4,000 to $5,000 for the metal, Romero said.

Lampi called the police station on Wednesday and asked if he could have his truck back. Burokas told him he was still investigating and that the metal in the truck was stolen.

"He said that he did not know anything about the stuff being stolen, he said to give him a day and he would tell us who the guy was that gave him the stuff," Burokas said in his report. "I also told him that he scrapped same items last week at Winfield Alloys. Again, he said give me a day."

Police did not hear back from Lampi, so now they're looking for him. They have a warrant to charge him with receiving stolen property over $250 and larceny over $250 by false pretense for the March 7 incident, and a warrant to charge him with receiving stolen property over $250 and attempting to commit a crime of larceny over $250 by false pretense on Tuesday.

Lampi does not work for April Industries or All Metals.

"We don't know if there's more people involved," Romero said. "We're trying to locate him now. We're working with New Hampshire authorities."

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