Stony Point Man Indicted in $25K Copper Wire Theft

A Stony Point man accused of stealing $25,000 worth of heavy-duty copper wire from a utility substation in West Nyack has been indicted by a Rockland County grand jury in New City.

Joseph Squillante, 46, of 21 Dogwood Lane, Stony Point, is charged with five counts of third-degree grand larceny and fourth-degree grand larceny, according to Rockland District Attorney Thomas Zugibe.

From Dec. 27, 2011, to Jan. 19, 2012, Squillante is accused of taking the wire from the Orange and Rockland substation on Route 59, hauling it away and then selling it to a scrap metal dealer in Westchester County. Police said Squillante is a home improvement contractor.

The wire, Clarkstown police said, was taken from the O&R site in several trips.

An investigation of the thefts included a review of video from a site near the O&R substation, which revealed license plate information which detectives could match up with video they obtained from the scrap yard located in Elmsford. Police said the scrap yard cooperated with the investigation.

Police estimate the O&R wire was sold for a total of about $10,000.

The theft was reported on Feb. 22 at the substation at 195 Route 59. The wire, about 2,592 linear feet of it, was discovered missing when an O&R worker went to the substation as part of his regular duties.