Passenger Trains > SEPTA employee stole, scrapped $600,000 in parts

Employee stole, scrapped $600k in parts from SEPTA
Philadelphia Inquirer
August 25, 2016
by Mari A. Schaefer

> Using his girlfriend's car as transport, a SEPTA employee stole more
> than $600,000 in batteries, catalytic converters, wire and other
> parts from his workplace and sold the items for scrap, according to
> the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office.
>
> Between January 2015 and Monday, Kyle Reece Allen, 28, took the items
> and sold them for a fraction of their worth to Philadelphia Metal and
> Resource Recovery, a metal recycling facility at 2204 East Somerset
> Street in Philadelphia, according to court documents.
>
> Allen worked at SEPTA's 69th Street Transportation Center in Upper
> Darby.
>
> An investigation began in May when Allen was recognized by a manager
> as he was leaving a SEPTA location at on Alan Wood Road in Plymouth
> Township after an alleged burglary. He was driving a silver
> hatchback registered to his girlfriend, court documents state.
>
> On Aug. 13, Allen, who was under surveillance by SEPTA Police,
> burglarized the Midvale Depot on Wissahickon Avenue in Philadelphia.
> Allen was later charged with theft, receiving stolen property,
> burglary, trespass and related crimes.
>
> Then, on Aug. 20, employees at Philadelphia Metal and Resource
> Recovery called SEPTA police to let them know Allen returned to sell
> more items for scrap.
>
> On Thursday, Allen was placed in Montgomery County Correctional
> Facility after failing to post $75,000 in bail.

Full story:

Employee stole, scrapped $600k in parts from SEPTA

That's a lot of money.
Wikipedia says Midvale is a bus depot

knotch8 Wrote:
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> That's a lot of money.
> Wikipedia says Midvale is a bus depot

Indeed, and a large one at that. It's the site of the former Midvale Steel, near Wayne Junction.

Posted from Android

200+ cat convertors were the most expensive at 400K

Out_Of_Service Wrote:
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> 200+ cat convertors were the most expensive at
> 400K

​That's $2,000 each at scrap value.  ?? 

P Wrote:
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> Out_Of_Service Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > 200+ cat convertors were the most expensive at
> > 400K
>
> ​That's $2,000 each at scrap value.  ?? 

the 600k was Septa's value .. the dope got pennies on the $1000 when he scraped the material

It seems on no matter which RR you talk about, you hear the stories of Theft , amazing, sad but true

All thefts were from bus terminals, Septa has two sets of keys, bus and railroad with no cross over. Trust me the Septa railroad div has cameras in places you would never think of and they control the keys better than most places. While "things" still happen on the railroad division they at least have a very tight security hold on the yards and shops.

miralomarail Wrote:
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> It seems on no matter which RR you talk about, you
> hear the stories of Theft , amazing, sad but true
Bum'll probably get a suspended sentence and be reinstated in the payroll...

Why isn't the scrap yard getting into trouble? You would think the same person bringing in things like catalitic converters and wire would raise eyebrows.

jst3751 Wrote:
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> Why isn't the scrap yard getting into trouble? You
> would think the same person bringing in things
> like catalitic converters and wire would raise
> eyebrows.

HIndsight is always 20/20.  Wasn't it the scrapyard that eventually alerted authorities?

One would think that repeatedly bringing in NEW and expensive looking parts would raise suspicions, but I'm sure scrapyards see lots of stuff like this that is perfectly valid.  There are plenty of parts that are made, never used and become worthless/outdated over time.  These often find their way to a scrapyard.   I tend to agree, however, that he likely could have been reported before $600,000 (retail) of equipment was destroyed. 

P Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> jst3751 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Why isn't the scrap yard getting into trouble?
> You
> > would think the same person bringing in things
> > like catalitic converters and wire would raise
> > eyebrows.
>
> HIndsight is always 20/20.  Wasn't it the
> scrapyard that eventually alerted authorities?
>
> One would think that repeatedly bringing in NEW
> and expensive looking parts would raise
> suspicions, but I'm sure scrapyards see lots of
> stuff like this that is perfectly valid.  There
> are plenty of parts that are made, never used and
> become worthless/outdated over time.  These often
> find their way to a scrapyard.   I tend to
> agree, however, that he likely could have been
> reported before $600,000 (retail) of equipment was
> destroyed. 

Yes.

In NJ, the law requires scrap yards to get positive ID on all sellers for transactions.  Copy of driver's license, video of vehicle and license plate, etc.  it would be unlikely somebody could sell dozens of new cat converters, wheels etc without getting some attention.

But, a group of hard working free lance salvage experts removed about 3/4 of a mile of highway guard rail along I-78 in Newark. Literally under the nose of the frequent state police patrols and state DOT. Took a few nights, nobody noticed.

Following an embarassing "news at 11" report, the stuff turned up in a scrap yard,, the guy had the video and DL info from the Einsteins who removed the material.

 

Back in the mid-1950s an Admiral, who was the father of one of my Classmates, was the Commander of the vast US Naval Base at Subic Bay in the Philippines.

Subic Bay was located at the northern end of the Bataan Peninsula. BIn the spring of 1967, before reportingf for duty in  Vietnam, I underwent Jungle Environment Survival Training (JESTt) there**. Having spent a week in the Bataan jungle, I can testify that it was so dense it was virtually impenetrable.

Anyhow ...

over a six-month period Filipino thieves had been stealing just about everthing that wasn't bolted down. It was determined that the nocturnal  ten-finger discount artists were entering the base from the jungle through holes that they'd cut in the perimeter fence. 

The Admiral and his staff decided that they needed to do something to make it impossible for the thieves to continue their activity. Public Works installed a new, miles-long perimeter fence that extended far out into the jungle. 

The thievery ceased. Then about four months later, much to the Admiral's dismay,  it resumed. Thinking the thieves must've cut holes into the new fence, a party of Public Works people was sent out into the jungle to investigate.

They discovered that the thieves had stolen the fence. 

Fritz in HSV, AL

** JEST was one of the finest training experiences of my long career in the Navy.. I can still remember many of the lessons that we learned.  Perhaps the most important one was: "The jungle is your friend -- if you understand it."   

I heard that on the news this morning. I think the scrap dealer who bought the stuff shoud bear some complicity in this theft. I have a difficult time believing that a scrap dealer wouldnt have had some idea that the material was questionable as far as its legitimacy for being scrap.

Jim
Hatboro, PA

billio Wrote:
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> miralomarail Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > It seems on no matter which RR you talk about,
> you
> > hear the stories of Theft , amazing, sad but
> true
> Bum'll probably get a suspended sentence and be
> reinstated in the payroll...

On what do you base this statement?

miralomarail Wrote:
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> It seems on no matter which RR you talk about, you hear the stories of Theft , amazing, sad but true

This is something that plagues ALL industries -- not just railroads.  

Companies have such intense anti-theft policies that they'll fire you if you walk off with items that they're throwing into a dumpster.  It's considered THEIR garbage and the employee has no right to take it.

Years ago, "60 Minutes" profiled a TWA flight attendant who was terminated for "stealing" an unopened milk carton from a trash container during a Paris layover.  The item was a leftover from an eastbound flight and, due to health regulations, could not be re-used on another flight.  She claimed she didn't like the taste of French milk and figured, wrongly, that there was no problem with her taking it.  

The fact that she was a union local chairman and the airline and union were, at the time, embroiled in some intense negotiations might have also been a factor as to why the airline dealt with her so harshly.       

Chooch Wrote:
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> I heard that on the news this morning. I think the
> scrap dealer who bought the stuff shoud bear some
> complicity in this theft. I have a difficult time
> believing that a scrap dealer wouldnt have had
> some idea that the material was questionable as
> far as its legitimacy for being scrap.
>
> Jim
> Hatboro, PA

it's a federal violation for any entity to accept any kind of railroad material

Reminds me of avstory about gondolas full of tie plates and such disappearing from long beach ca.....the car and contents were scrapped.  

>
> it's a federal violation for any entity to accept
> any kind of railroad material

Then how does one explain all that stuff that used to be sold at Winterail?