ST. LOUIS (KMOX) – Heavy equipment – bulldozers, backhoes and earth movers – has been disappearing from St. Louis area construction sites at an alarming rate in recent weeks.
Association of General Contractors president Len Toenjes says this is big stuff often used on public works jobs, and the ultimate victims are taxpayers.
“These contractors (that have been targeted) are really into the earth-moving and heavy equipment area,” Toenjes tells KMOX News. “So we’re not talking about saws or drills here. We’re talking about heavy iron scrapers, backhoes.”
If they’re publicly-funded projects, then it’s the public that eventually has to pay the price to replace the equipment, which can go for five or even six-figures apiece.
What’s more, Toenjes says, these thieves obviously know what they’re doing, pulling up in trucks and hot-wiring the equipment.
Passersby don’t suspect a thing.
Toenjes says it all gets sent south of the border, to be re-painted and re-sold.
He asks anybody seeing suspicious behavior to call police.
Copyright KMOX Radio
