Three men have been charged in connection with the theft of copper wire from Milwaukee streetlights, including 51-year-old Alvin Clifton Harris, whom court documents reportedly refer to as “Green Goblin.” Mario Gill, 55, and Daryll Harton, 58, were also charged in connection with the thefts.
This isn’t a comic book. This is Milwaukee. And once again, taxpayers are left dealing with the consequences.
According to CBS 58’s reporting, thieves have stolen more than $830,000 worth of copper wire from the city through roughly 250 thefts over the past two years.
The Heartland Post has also reported on this problem.
“Milwaukee’s copper thieves aren’t just stripping abandoned schools and shuttered grocery stores anymore. They are ripping copper right out of streetlights.
What started off as a nuisance crime has now become a full-blown infrastructure crisis. Residents say that they’ve been waiting for weeks to get their streetlights fixed.
The Department of Public Works (DPW) confirmed that Riverwest, Riverside Park, Harambee, and Rufus King have all had streetlights gutted for copper, leaving entire blocks in pitch darkness.
Milwaukee taxpayers ultimately have to live with the damage. Some residents reported that with the streetlights out, there have been more car thefts and more property damage.
While residents are already paying taxes and expecting the city to provide basic services, these thieves are allegedly ripping copper wire out of the very infrastructure taxpayers paid to put in place.
The thieves are breaking into underground junction boxes and streetlight bases, stripping out the copper wiring and selling it to scrap yards.
Scrap copper sells for $2.85 to $5.50 per pound in Milwaukee.
That means the public doesn’t simply lose the copper.
We lose working infrastructure.
The public already paid for that infrastructure once. When it is damaged or stolen, public resources have to be used to repair or replace it.
And there’s another cost that can’t be measured merely by adding up repair bills.
People walking home shouldn’t have to wonder whether their street will be pitch dark because somebody tore apart city infrastructure looking for copper.
Neighborhoods already concerned about crime and disorder don’t need another reason to feel unsafe after dark.
Milwaukee County District Attorney Kent Lovern said, “This is nonviolent crime that has a reverberating impact on thousands of people in our neighborhoods in this city,”
Mayor Cavalier Johnson said, “I want to be clear. The city takes these thefts seriously, and we will not look the other way when people break the law and they steal. They steal. They make the decision to steal our resources; that puts a burden on our neighborhoods and on our taxpayers.”
After roughly 250 reported thefts and more than $830,000 worth of stolen copper, residents are entitled to expect more than empty promises.
We deserve accountability.
We deserve a serious effort to make it harder for thieves to turn Milwaukee’s public infrastructure into easy money.
MPD Assistant Chief Paul Lough said, “Here we have a guy working in conjunction with two others that we know of, stealing thousands of dollars of property and doing it in a way that causes taxpayers to pay and creating an unsafe environment for our citizens to live in.”
The law-abiding people of Milwaukee shouldn’t constantly be the ones expected to absorb the consequences created by people who don’t respect the law, public property, or the taxpayers who paid for it.
That’s the part of this story that should make every Milwaukee taxpayer angry.
We paid for the streetlights.
We paid for the copper.
We pay for the city workers.
And when somebody steals or destroys what we’ve already paid for, taxpayers are left dealing with the aftermath.
The darkness left behind isn’t an inconvenience for the person who walks away with the copper.
That’s what makes this story bigger than three defendants, and somebody nicknamed the “Green Goblin.”
The city must make it harder to turn stolen public property into quick cash.
Whether someone steals a streetlight’s copper, damages public property, or destroys other taxpayer-funded infrastructure, one fundamental truth remains:
There is no such thing as stealing from “the city.”
You’re stealing from us.
Citizens shouldn’t have to keep paying for the same streetlights because criminals keep stealing what’s inside them.
Milwaukee residents deserve streets that are lit. We deserve public property that is protected. We deserve to know that when somebody steals from their city, there will be real accountability if they’re convicted.
When thieves rip the copper out and leave the streets dark, we’re the ones being robbed.
So the next time somebody calls copper theft a minor or “nonviolent crime,” remember who’s left picking up the pieces.
Milwaukee taxpayers are damn tired of these thieves and their destruction of our neighborhoods. The city must prosecute these criminals and send a message to others who are stealing copper.
