As Much As One Ton Of Copper, Tools Stolen From Wagoner Company

Thieves pulled more than a ton of copper out of a Green Country business.

The crime stopped a company that does business all over the world in its tracks.

It's a significant loss and only a small gain for the thieves. The company lost over $100,000 in parts, but the thieves aren't even likely to net nearly that much.

Steve Costigan was cleaning up shop Wednesday.

Thieves broke into his business, SC Piping and Mechanical, in the early morning hours on Monday.

"What we've come up with right now is about two to three thousand pounds of copper, probably 1,500 pounds in stainless and a lot of hand tools, Costigan said.

The crooks made off with more than $100,000 in stolen parts, most of which can't be identified.

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The heist left almost all necessary equipment in the shop unusable.

"The stuff they took, they can get melted down and get their money and go elsewhere and they can go to different states to get it done," Costigan said. "It's gonna put us a couple weeks behind on deliveries we have to make to our customers."

And while it hurts to play catch up, Costigan's biggest concern is with his employees and their families.

"A lot of people now live from payday to payday, and when you lose a couple weeks' paycheck, everybody starts running late on bills," Costigan said.

To get inside, the thieves cut the lock on the fence, and then busted through a side door.

Costigan said whoever is responsible has likely been inside before and knew exactly what they wanted.

Wagoner Police Chief Bob Haley said investigators haven't ruled out the possibility it was an inside job.

"We're talking to employees to see if there's anybody that might have been there, former employees—we're following those leads as well," Haley said.

Though Costigan said he's still in a daze and the burglary has already changed the way he does business.

"It's a bad feeling to feel like you've got to have an eye on everybody anymore," he said.

SC Piping hopes to have all 45 employees back on the job by the end of next week.

The company is insured, but that won't cover costs for the loss of production.