Oct. 12--Police are a signature away from having another resource in their continuous fight to catch thieves stealing copper and other precious metals.

A measure by state Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre, that requires scrap metal facilities to obtain a photocopy of every customer's driver's license, address, signature and vehicle license plate is awaiting Gov. Ed Rendell's approval.

Pashinski said in a prepared statement last week that "...it's a law that's direly needed.

"As the worldwide demand for all metals increases, the value of metal commodities has spiraled upwards in a dramatic fashion, causing an epidemic of metal thefts."

Police reports indicate an increase in the theft of copper pipe and wires from vacant homes and residences that are for sale.

Between February 2006 and September 2007, there were 90 reported thefts of copper pipe and tubing from buildings in Wilkes-Barre, police said. Of those 90 incidents, 81 structures were unoccupied.

Recently, state police at Dunmore said telephone service was interrupted for 300 Verizon customers in Lackawanna and Wayne counties when thieves cut 900 feet of three-inch copper telephone cable from poles in Clifton Township, near Gouldsboro.

Police suspect the thieves used ladders to reach the cable on utility poles. Once the cable was on the ground, police allege the cable was cut into smaller pieces.

Harveys Lake police arrested two men, Eric Bruno, 36, of Exeter, and Ryan C. Bush, 24, of West Pittston, with attempting to steal approximately 500 pounds of copper from a company on Sept. 24, according to arrest records.

Police said in arrest records that Bruno and Bush cut a metal fence to access the copper in Dumpsters.

And, state police at Frackville said they are investigating the theft of several hundred feet of copper wiring from a coal company in Schuylkill County that was reported on Friday.

Under Pashinski's bill, scrap processors and recycling facilities would have to maintain records on all transactions over $100, or those involving catalytic converters, and keep those records for two years.

Information that would have to be retained includes a photocopy of the seller's driver's license, vehicle license plate, description of the material purchased, the weight of material purchased and the amount paid for the material.

Those facilities would have to hold the materials for 48 hours upon police notification of an investigation into stolen copper or other precious metal.

"Since this bill was passed by the House (of Representatives) in February, rarely a week has gone by without stories appearing in the news regarding scrap metal theft," Pashinski said. "Construction materials, aluminum bleachers, manhole covers, beer kegs, copper tubing from homes, copper downspouts from churches, mausoleum doors and veterans' markers from cemeteries have all been subject to these senseless thefts."

Several messages left at local scrap metal facilities and recycling centers last week were not returned.

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