Syracuse, NY -- When a facilities manager saw three men loading steel pipe stored at the Regional Transportation Center into a van Thursday, she asked what they were doing. One of the men told her they were taking the pipe to be recycled, Syracuse police said. The facilities manager told them to put the pipe back. The men put two...
Syracuse, NY -- When a facilities manager saw three men loading steel pipe stored at the Regional Transportation Center into a van Thursday, she asked what they were doing.
One of the men told her they were taking the pipe to be recycled, Syracuse police said.
The facilities manager told them to put the pipe back. The men put two sections of pipe back before getting into the van and driving off with two other sections of pipe still in the van, Sgt. Tom Connellan said.
The facilities manager notified police of the theft and police contacted a Hiawatha Boulevard recycling company. The recyclers were given the description of the men, vehicle and pipes, Connellan said.
Ten minutes later, the recycling company called back to say the men and the pipes had just arrived, Connellan said. The company told police this was not the men’s first trip to their facility; the recycling company had 10 more sections of pipe the men previously delivered in the scrap yard, Connellan said.
Richard R. Hiller, 31, and Russell R. Hiller, 33, both of 79 Bayberry Circle, Clay, and Mathew Ellis, 31, of 85 Vine St., Liverpool, were charged with grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property, both felonies.
When police were searching Richard Hiller after his arrest, a set of brass knuckles was found in his possession, Connellan said. He was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, a felony.
The 12 sections of pipe taken to the recycler had a combined value of more than $1,500, Connellan said.