It seems so simple even a tweaker can do it: stealing copper. Thieves around the Valley dissect freeway lights, crack open air-conditioning systems and raid construction sites looking for a quick buck. And with the metal’s street price at up to $3 a pound, copper thieves are becoming more brazen.
But while Metro police and the FBI crack down on copper-theft rings, shutting down illegal scrap and trade operations, there are some alternatives that would-be copper thieves can turn to:
Start an illegal penny-making operation. Sure, modern pennies are less than 3 percent copper; that doesn’t prevent you from starting your own high-value penny operation. Sell counterfeit pure-copper pennies to the currency collectors who know that before the late 1860s pennies were made of pure copper and are now valued from $2 to $34 each.
Burnish your scrap copper into a gigantic reflecting sunscreen and burn your enemies to a crisp. Greek scientist Archimedes devised a weapon made out of mirrors that is said to have stopped the Romans during the battle of Syracuse in 200 B.C. Thing like that could be useful at your next HOA meeting.
Throw your stolen scrap into a truck and take it to Mexico. According to Metro, that’s where everyone else is going with it.