5 charged with stealing plastic pallets in Prince George's

Five people have been charged with stealing massive amounts of plastic pallets and crates used to transport bottled soft drinks, baked goods and dairy products, costing local businesses nearly $10 million, Prince George's County State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey said Thursday.

The thieves would then recycle the plastic and take the recycling money, Ivey said. The prosecutor made the announcement at a news conference at the Coca-Cola Bottling Co. in Capitol Heights. The soft drink manufacturer is one of the businesses that has been hardest hit by the thefts, Ivey and a company official said.

"This is a multimillion-dollar problem," Ivey said. "It undermines the businesses, and the costs are passed along to consumers."

For the past seven months, James Rood, a private investigator, worked on behalf of a consortium of businesses hit by plastic container thieves. The group includes Coca-Cola, H&S Bakery, Safeway and Shoppers Food Warehouse. Business officials said a single, large plastic pallet costs about $60. Rood, a former Baltimore police investigator, said many of the thefts occur during late at night or early in the morning.

The thieves typically target warehouses, retail stories, dairies, bakeries and restaurants at which plastic pallets and crates are left outside unattended, Rood said.

The culprits often use large pickup trucks or rental trucks, Rood said. The stolen items are typically taken to a recycling center, where they are shredded. Recycling centers pay about 8 cents a pound for plastic, Rood said. The thieves sometimes steal the rental vehicles, too, Rood said.

Recycling centers send the shredded material to manufacturers, who often use the ground plastic to make more plastic pallets and containers, Rood and business officials said.

Curtis L. Etherly, a spokesman for the Coca-Cola Bottling Co.'s Mid-Atlantic region, said the soda company has experienced a significant increase in such thefts in the past 18 months.

"We're seeing an evolution in the sophistication of this crime," Etherly said. "We're talking about the use of vehicles, organization and structure to move large amounts of plastic pallets."

Plastic containers stolen near the southern and northern U.S. borders are sometimes sold in Mexico and Canada, said Robb MacKie, president and chief executive officer of the American Bakers Association.

The indictment accuses the five suspects of stealing plastic pallets and containers in Prince George's between June and September. Each of the five is charged with multiple counts of felony theft.

The suspects named in the indictment were identified as James E. Lipson, 37, of the District, and his wife, Yvonne Lipson, 27, of Landover; Ofer Tsauch, 44, of Hyattsville; and Myron Nelson, 44, of Leonardtown. Authorities suspect that the Lipsons, Tsauch and Nelson worked together.

The other suspect was identified as Peter N. Amaefule, 48, of Fort Washington. Amaefule had his own shredder, officials said.