FONTANA, Calif. (AP) — Investigators wearing bulletproof vests sit in unmarked cars outside a Southern California recycling center, swapping license plate details over two-way radio before dawn.
A truck emerges, and they follow, hoping to learn where drivers pick up what to many looks like trash but turns out to be treasure: cardboard.
"It's big, big money — for somebody," said Steve Rivera, a senior investigator with the San Bernardino County District Attorney's office who has been conducting sunrise surveillance to track, educate and cite the culprits. "People don't recognize the fact that it's actually theft."
Stealing cardboard? Really? Local government is spending taxpayer money and time fighting "cardboard thieves"? And cops have to wear bulletproof vests to do it? What will they think of next--staking out and arresting people who don't wash their hands after using the restroom?
