>>At our plant,
© Copyright: see author in the original source of this image. [?]
Art imitating reality or vice-verse?
Posted on 02/10/2012 4:57:40 AM PST by TSgt
It could be the biggest copper theft in U.S. history and it's apparently been going on here in the Tri-State for years. It involves a massive on-going federal investigation. In a story you'll see only on Local 12, reporter Rich Jaffe adds up the cost of a missing treasure chest of "red gold".
In February of last year, agents from the Internal Revenue Service and the FBI along with police from Cincinnati, Blue Ash and a couple of Northern Kentucky agencies executed federal search warrants at numerous locations around the Tri-State. Among other places they hit were Garden Street Metals, Blue Grass Recycling, Newport Recycling, and what was Right Now Recycling in Blue Ash. "I didn't understand but why they had to pull their guns when they know clearly who we are and what we are here and the kind of search warrant it was, wasn't called for having to draw their guns."
The owner of Garden Street Metals says investigators took almost 30 boxes of files, along with computer hard drives and disks, although to date no charges have been filed against his company. We now know the investigators were looking for information that could connect the scrap yards to a select group of Duke Energy employees who over a period of years allegedly stole as much as $25 million worth of copper from the company. "It was a small group of guys where you had 6 or seven that were on the take, a third of an entire department was stealing millions of dollars."
We agreed not to identify this Duke worker in order to protect his job. He and others told me there had been a lot of speculation in recent years, about how some of their co-workers could afford their lavish lifestyles. The workers involved were employed in the Underground Electric Department of Duke, and as you would expect had supervisors and managers above them. "There's no way that they would have not been aware of all this theft, it's impossible for them not to have known."
What the employees were allegedly stealing was reel after massive reel of copper wire, each one worth s much as $30,000 at a scrap yard. "They should have never been able to steal like they did. This is millions of dollars that went on for years."
Apparently staked out for Duke workers, in December of 2010, according to documents obtained by Local 12, Blue Ash police charged two men, Larry Ratliff and Harold Lee Daugherty with receiving stolen property after they allegedly sold $31,000 worth of Duke copper to Right Now recycling. Daugherty and Ratliff came from a Columbus union pool of electrical workers hired by Banta Electric to do a job for Duke. Local charges against the pair were dropped when the U.S. attorney took over the case. Banta was never charged.
In August of last year members of the same task force, including federal agents and local police descended on this building in rural Campbell County. It was allegedly a storage facility for much of the stolen copper. This was also reportedly the center of a stripping operation where two men were paid to clean the heavy insulation off the stolen wire. "We had no idea that this was all going on over there at all, we had, we were clueless when we found out about this. I didn't like the idea of living across the street from something like that at all."
While it's hard to imagine how something as big as a huge roll of coper could just disappear, people close to this investigation tell me it's as simple as adding and subtracting. The Duke employees would order in say three rolls of copper, but when they took possession of them only two would end up on the job site...and the other one would end up in a place like this. "There's no way you should be able to get by with ordering that much excessive material, a roll of wire is somewhere around $25,000 and we're talking smaller rolls. These guys were stealing roll after roll after roll and there's no way management wouldn't have known."
As Duke prepares for a merger with Progress Energy which will make it the largest utility in the country, officials are also bracing for indictments coming from the Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky Robert McBride seen here in a different story. What no one except McBride knows is just how far into the company those indictments will reach.
Initially no one at Duke was willing to talk with us on came, however, officials at the company recently changed their minds about that and on Thursday morning, asked their spokeswoman to talk to a limited degree about their side of the investigation. "We learned of criminal activity within our workforce and immediately took action to reach out for law enforcement for assistance. We knew this was something that we'd need their help with and our security department here at duke identified the problem and began that outreach. We 100 percent looked at this looked at what we could do to strengthen internal controls and that's absolutely been done."
Duke officials say as a result of their investigation, they have so far terminated four employees and are leaving the rest of the case and the investigation in the hands of the U.S. Attorney. While Duke has terminated some employees, no one at Duke Energy has been criminally charged. A Justice Department spokesman says no one from the U.S. Attorney's office can comment about an on-going investigation, and there's no word about when the indictments might be handed down. When that happens, we'll let you know.
Yep. That’s the little buried gem in the entire article.
Yep. That’s the little buried gem in the entire article.
Yea. Not to be negative, but...I think it’s going to be a really rocky ride. Where are my F-1 race car seat belts, nomex burn suit...and helmet?
We used to have a joke in the power plants.
If a construction worker could not double his wages by stealing copper, he was a poor construction worker.
It was something to see the construction workers come in carrying their lunch boxes, then stagger under the weight of the same lunch box at the end of the shift.
The theft of tools and metal is astounding in a power plant! It is also astounding to she how much good metal is thrown in the trash dumpsters.
Some of our people would stay over and go through the trash, pulling out enough metal to have a beer party at the end of the week. These were not scrap metal bins, these were trash going to a landfill.
***my mom and dad’s telephone service has become irregular because of the damned copper thieves,***
Several years back, some thief stole and cut up a large roll of copper wire. Then he found it was only copper coated steel, which had little value at that time.
****My guess is that management in both the sub(s?) AND Duke are involved.****
Years ago, the Assistant Manager of the power plant under construction was livid when a pile of marine grade plywood disappeared from the site. He warned he would fire anyone stealing from the plant.
A few weeks later, someone went to his house for some reason, and the assistant manager opened his garage, for just a few seconds. There was a large pile of marine grade plywood stacked in there.
He was never fired but he was a real a$$ hole and quit years later.
***You would think that when a guy comes in with brand new reels of copper cable date coded in the last 12 months or so,***
At our plant, when it was being built, the construction workers would have lunch in the underground manholes. We would watch as a roll of copper ground wire would slowly unroll about eight inches at a time. We knew someone was cutting it into sections to take out in their lunchboxes.
Once our assistant plant manager got into a clean up mode and sold some washers to the scrap company. Our electrical engineer was livid because those were special high dollar washers for the generator and he had to pay a premium to the scrap yard to buy them back.
In Mad Max's world, those items would be accessories for a flamethrower.
Our culture is only as corrupt as We the People allow it to be.
>>We would watch as a roll of copper ground wire would slowly unroll about eight inches at a time.
Watch and DO, what about it?Thieves in manhole. See, now in Mad Max's world that's a situation where the flamethrower would be handy.
>> when the U.S. attorney took over the case. Banta was never charged.
Fahgedaboudit?
© Copyright: see author in the original source of this image. [?]
Art imitating reality or vice-verse?
How many of the following traits were observable in his behavior?
Profile of the Sociopath
This website summarizes some of the common features of descriptions of the behavior of sociopaths.
- Glibness and Superficial Charm
- Manipulative and Conning
They never recognize the rights of others and see their self-serving behaviors as permissible. They appear to be charming, yet are covertly hostile and domineering, seeing their victim as merely an instrument to be used. They may dominate and humiliate their victims.
- Grandiose Sense of Self
Feels entitled to certain things as "their right."
- Pathological Lying
Has no problem lying coolly and easily and it is almost impossible for them to be truthful on a consistent basis. Can create, and get caught up in, a complex belief about their own powers and abilities. Extremely convincing and even able to pass lie detector tests.
- Lack of Remorse, Shame or Guilt
A deep seated rage, which is split off and repressed, is at their core. Does not see others around them as people, but only as targets and opportunities. Instead of friends, they have victims and accomplices who end up as victims. The end always justifies the means and they let nothing stand in their way.
- Shallow Emotions
When they show what seems to be warmth, joy, love and compassion it is more feigned than experienced and serves an ulterior motive. Outraged by insignificant matters, yet remaining unmoved and cold by what would upset a normal person. Since they are not genuine, neither are their promises.
- Incapacity for Love
- Need for Stimulation
Living on the edge. Verbal outbursts and physical punishments are normal. Promiscuity and gambling are common.
- Callousness/Lack of Empathy
Unable to empathize with the pain of their victims, having only contempt for others' feelings of distress and readily taking advantage of them.
- Poor Behavioral Controls/Impulsive Nature
Rage and abuse, alternating with small expressions of love and approval produce an addictive cycle for abuser and abused, as well as creating hopelessness in the victim. Believe they are all-powerful, all-knowing, entitled to every wish, no sense of personal boundaries, no concern for their impact on others.
- Early Behavior Problems/Juvenile Delinquency
Usually has a history of behavioral and academic difficulties, yet "gets by" by conning others. Problems in making and keeping friends; aberrant behaviors such as cruelty to people or animals, stealing, etc.
- Irresponsibility/Unreliability
Not concerned about wrecking others' lives and dreams. Oblivious or indifferent to the devastation they cause. Does not accept blame themselves, but blames others, even for acts they obviously committed.
- Promiscuous Sexual Behavior/Infidelity
Promiscuity, child sexual abuse, rape and sexual acting out of all sorts.
- Lack of Realistic Life Plan/Parasitic Lifestyle
Tends to move around a lot or makes all encompassing promises for the future, poor work ethic but exploits others effectively.
- Criminal or Entrepreneurial Versatility
Changes their image as needed to avoid prosecution. Changes life story readily.
Other Related Qualities:
- Contemptuous of those who seek to understand them
- Does not perceive that anything is wrong with them
- Authoritarian
- Secretive
- Paranoid
- Only rarely in difficulty with the law, but seeks out situations where their tyrannical behavior will be tolerated, condoned, or admired
- Conventional appearance
- Goal of enslavement of their victim(s)
- Exercises despotic control over every aspect of the victim's life
- Has an emotional need to justify their crimes and therefore needs their victim's affirmation (respect, gratitude and love)
- Ultimate goal is the creation of a willing victim
- Incapable of real human attachment to another
- Unable to feel remorse or guilt
- Extreme narcissism and grandiose
- May state readily that their goal is to rule the world
(The above traits are based on the psychopathy checklists of H. Cleckley and R. Hare.)
-----------------------------
Anybody else observe that items in the above list are becoming increasingly "normal" in their workplace/profession?
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