Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy on Thursday signed into law a bill requiring scrap metal processors and buyers to follow new guidelines that would help police track thieves who pawn stolen material.
The law is the first in the state to impose criminal prevention requirements on scrap metal dealers. The law requires all purchasers of scrap metal, end of life vehicles and catalytic converters to create a record for each purchase of the seller’s government-issued photo ID and the date of purchase. The information will then be entered into an electronic database that law enforcement officials may access upon request.
Violators of this new provision would be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor and fines of $1,000 per offense for an individual purchaser or $5,000 for a corporation. Subsequent offenses buy a corporation within a two-year period would result in a felony charge carrying a $10,000 fine.
The signing was heralded by members of the scrap metal industry.
“We are pleased the County Executive is signing this bill into law today,” said Kevin Gershowitz, president of Gershow Recycling, in a statement. “The legislation’s stiff fines and broad application sends a strong message that Suffolk County will not tolerate the illegal sale of scrap metal. If allowed to take full effect and with proper law enforcement, it will bring an entire industry into compliance overnight. We applaud the County Executive and Legislators Stern and Losquadro for working with the industry to find solutions to the problem of scrap metal theft without placing undue burdens on our environmental recycling industries.”
