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City of Seattle
Gregory J. Nickels, Mayor
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NEWS ADVISORY
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| SUBJECT: Metal Recycler Says ‘Yes’ To Stolen Goods, Detectives Say ‘No Go’
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
4/10/2007 3:00:00 PM |
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jeff Kappel (206) 684-5520
Police Media Relations (206) 684-5520
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Metal Recycler Says ‘Yes’ To Stolen Goods,
Detectives Say ‘No Go’
SEATTLE – What do road signs, WSDOT traffic cameras and telephone wire have in common? Combine them with 7 months of intensive investigative work and you get a criminal case resulting in the closure of a major metal recycling operation in South Seattle.
Everbright International, located at 9688 Martin Luther King Way South, first came to the attention of detectives during a routine inspection in September of 2006. Detectives verified that the business was purchasing metals without a used goods license (SMC 6.288.030A). This violation was remedied when the appropriate license was obtained.
Everbright International was now officially on the police ‘radar’. Would the license violation be the product of simple oversight or a harbinger of noncompliance? As time progressed, the answer would become abundantly clear.
For the next 5 months, Everbright International steadily grew in notoriety. Word on the street (and backed by Seattle Police and King County Sheriff’s Office Police reports) had Everbright pegged as a business where thieves could bring in their stolen metal, no questions asked.
Seattle Police detectives would put this reputation to the test. In February, an undercover operation commenced to determine whether or not Everbright was operating in a lawful manner. The bait: property donated by perennial metal theft victims WSDOT, QWEST, and Puget Sound Energy.
On March 12th, an undercover officer (UC) traveled to Everbright loaded up with ‘metal’: two PELCO and one COHU cameras and scrap wire. The cameras are unique to WSDOT and are not available to the general public. The UC offered the property to an Everbright employee for the day’s going rate for metal. Cameras for cash, no questions asked.
Later the same day, the UC returned with 3 COHU WSDOT traffic cameras, a PELCO camera and several hundred feet of cable. The cameras were clearly marked with serial numbers and WSDOT tags. On this occasion, Everbright’s owner assisted the UC with the transaction. Again, no questions were asked. The UC walked with cash.
On March 14th, the same UC returned to Everbright with a brand new spool of general cable and a WSDOT signal box. Both had State of Washington Property Redistribution tags clearly affixed. The UC noticed that the owner was careful to stash the spool of cable behind some large boxes. No questions, cash provided, business as usual.
On March 15th, a different UC was utilized. The new UC brought in two spools of cable marked QWEST as well as a signal box with WSDOT stickers and tags. The owner’s wife, Changqing Liu, handled the transaction. The property was taken to be ‘recycled’ and payment was provided to the UC.
On April 2nd, a third UC participated in the investigation. This new UC arrived at Everbright with 2 spools of copper wire marked with Puget Sound Energy (PSE) labels; several WSDOT road signs and several pieces of QWEST insulated phone wires. This UC engaged the owner in conversation, explaining that he worked for WSDOT. The UC elaborated that he steals signs from work. The UC added that he could steal more if the owner was willing to buy them. The owner said that he would and that the UC should get a truck to bring them in. When it came time to make the deal, the owner pointed at a folded piece of paper that said, “ID required for all transactions”. The UC smartly responded, “Next time.” The owner’s wife paid the UC and he walked out the door.
Making good on his promise to return with more ‘stolen property’, this third UC returned on April 4th and April 5th. As before, the UC exchanged WSDOT signs and PSE copper wire for US currency.
Armed with these facts, detectives made their move on April 10th. The owner’s wife was arrested and is awaiting booking into King County Jail for Investigation of Trafficking in Stolen Property. The owner is currently in China. It is the hope of the detectives that this man face charges, even in absence. In the meantime, operations have ceased at Everbright International.
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