Metal recycler arrested in stolen-goods sting

A seven-month sting operation culminated Tuesday with the arrest of a South Seattle metal recycler who police say knowingly purchased stolen metal items and cameras.

During the investigation, undercover officers sold Everbright International items donated to police by agencies and businesses hit hard by metal theft, police said. Spools of copper wire, metal cameras, cable and even signal boxes — items clearly marked as belonging to either the state Department of Transportation, Qwest or Puget Sound Energy — were sold to the recycler, said Seattle police Detective Sam DeJesus.

"We put in stuff that was very, very unique," DeJesus said. "We know that in the last six months they [owners of the recycler] made over $300,000."

Police arrested a co-owner of Everbright International for investigation of trafficking in stolen property.

The woman, who isn't being named because she hasn't been charged, faces up to five years in prison if convicted, according to the King County Prosecutor's Office. Police said her husband, the co-owner of Everbright, will be arrested when he returns from China, where he is delivering a shipment of scrap metal.

A steel signal box was the only thing employees at Everbright turned down, DeJesus said. That was because it wouldn't be cost-effective to send it to buyers in China, he added.

Metal theft has been a growing problem across much of the nation as the price of metal, particularly copper, has risen. In the Puget Sound region, the Department of Transportation has lost nearly $80,000 in materials in thefts from yards and construction sites during the past year, said Jon Cornelius, an operations superintendent.

With the current market price of copper wire at $2.60 a pound, Seattle police said some metal recyclers might be inclined to look the other way when it comes to purchasing clearly stolen items.

"Everbright International was being used as an ATM by a lot of people," DeJesus said.

Police first learned about Everbright International, in the 9600 block of Martin Luther King Way South, when they started investigating local metal recyclers for accepting stolen items last fall, DeJesus said. Several of the 12 recyclers in the city tipped off police about what was going on at Everbright, he said.

Police sold the first batch of donated items on March 12. They returned seven times.

Employees at the recycler broke the law by often failing to request the seller's identification, police said. When identification was requested, police gave the name of someone on a list of convicted felons, whom recyclers aren't supposed to buy from. Even when presented with those names, employees still bought items, police said.

Cornelius said the Department of Transportation donated about $3,000 of metal to the investigation.

"The problem has been so rampant," Cornelius said. "This is a very frustrating problem for all of us. We wake up to a new loss weekly, or even daily."

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com