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I-Team Undercover Investigation: Selling Stolen Veterans Grave Markers

I-Team Undercover Investigation: Selling Stolen Veterans Grave Markers - Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at 6:05PM EST

Reported by: Mike Trim
Tuesday, Nov 11, 2008 @ 06:05pm EST
Veterans grave markers - a way to honor the sacrifices made by area servicemen. But thieves are stealing these markers and selling them for cash. Local veterans groups and district attorneys have warned scrap yards not to buy them. But if there's a market, the thefts will continue.

The I-Team bought our own grave markers and then went undercover. The markers were mixed with scrap metal, and then offered to scrap yards for sale.

First up was Allan Industries in Wilkes-Barre. The owner takes a quick look in the bucket that contains the marker. He tells us to give it to a worker in the back. We even ask him if it was ok to sell the marker.

A minute later, a worker dumps the bucket, and we're paid a few dollars. A few weeks later, we asked Allan Industries about the sale. The manager said, “We don't accept them.”

We said, “We came here a couple of times and you guys bought them at face value though.”

Allan Industries said, “Not grave markers sir, you didn't come here for it.”

We asked, “Even if we have it on camera?"

The manager says he would have asked for ID and a certificate proving we were from a cemetery association. He goes on to say, "If a stranger walked in and said I have grave markers, we would be smart enough to know, they're not the cemetery."

But we weren't asked for any information before the sale.

Next was Fiegleman's in Scranton. A worker reaches into our bucket, and tosses our marker on a weight scale - no questions asked. We were given a few bucks for the scrap, and a receipt.

Feiglemans owner wouldn't talk to us on camera. But off camera he says he's given strict orders to his workers not to take markers like these.

Now to Cohen Recycling in Wilkes-Barre. A worker takes our scrap metal, puts the marker beside the bucket, then tosses it away, before paying us.

The owner says they have strict policies in place. He told us, "If anything comes in like that, we demand from the person who's selling them, license, identification of the person, a letter from the cemetery that they may have come from."

But like the other yards, we weren't asked for any ID.

We showed Luzerne County's Director of Veterans Affairs Richard Wren our undercover video. He says the scrap yards need to show some responsibility. "I understand that day to day business gets a little crazy, gets a little busy, but I mean it's not like it's something very tiny or small. I mean, you know what it is, it's prevalent, you know, and just by one look you should be questioning these," says Wren.

Not every scrap yard bought grave markers for face value. In fact some said it was illegal, and to take our business elsewhere.

At Mike's Scrap Recycling in Scranton, we showed a worker our marker, but he says they can't take it. Management says the reason is simple. One manager says, "It's illegal to take them, number one and you're stealing from veterans for another."
Bielecki Recyling in Wilkes-Barre wouldn't take them either. The manager says "These boys fought for our country. Why should they go steal it off a grave and come here and make a dollar?"

Fiegleman's and Cohen scrap yards say they'll talk to their workers and keep a closer eye on markers coming in.

Wren says Luzerne County is now considering putting the symbols in stone, so the mark of a veteran can stay safe from thieves and off the open market.

 


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