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In these thefts, we all lose

By ANDREW SKERRITT
Published July 23, 2006

I was driving around central Pasco admiring the landscape a few days ago, looking for news, when I pulled into the Connerton development off U.S. 41.

Beyond all the freshly turned earth, I noticed a sign for Larkin Contracting Inc.

The Tampa construction firm was offering a $2,500 reward for the arrest and conviction of anyone caught stealing or vandalizing at any of the company's construction sites.

I wanted to know what prompted the company to offer the reward, so I called.

The construction boom has created a boom in construction site theft as well. That's not exactly news - thieves have long treated construction sites like free supermarkets.

In 2004, during the height of our four-storm hurricane season, plywood was flying away from construction sites and it wasn't because of Charley, Frances, Ivan or Jeanne.

We've heard about thieves trying to cash in on the rising price of copper. But the latest hot commodity is diesel. No, not your fuel station variety diesel, but a reddish offroad diesel used to power heavy equipment.

Larkin Contracting general manager Ken Wachman says the company posted the sign because in addition to the usual problem of vandalism and damaged equipment, about 20,000 gallons of diesel have been stolen in recent months from construction sites at Watergrass in Wesley Chapel and Seven Oaks, which straddles Pasco and Hillsborough counties.

The company also had a full fuel storage tanker on wheels stolen from a job site in Apollo Beach in southern Hillsborough County. When the tanker was recovered in Gibsonton, 5,000 gallons of diesel had evaporated.

"It's unreal, the thievery that's going on," he said.

Larkin isn't the only target. Last month, 1,000 gallons of diesel disappeared from a Ripa & Associates site off State Road 52 in Land O'Lakes.

This fuel goes for about $3 a gallon, so we're not talking chicken feed. And the thefts, like the shortage of cement and skilled workers, delay projects.

Diesel powers the heavy equipment that Larkin crews use for digging, moving and excavating as they prepare construction sites. When crews show up for work and there's no diesel, they can't operate the machines; the project slows down.

"If those trucks are sitting, you are losing money," Wachman said.

When contractors fall behind, it hurts the developer who is already selling houses that haven't been built. And it takes longer for you or your friends to move into that dream house. The delays means higher production and financing costs.

Ultimately, we all pay.

"It's a domino effect," Wachman said. "It's a lose, lose, lose, lose situation."

So what's the answer to these diesel heists?

Pasco County Sheriff's Office spokesman Kevin Doll says that with so much building going on, there's no way deputies can watch every construction site. Private companies must provide more security.

But that may not be enough. Some of the thefts look like the work of folks who are pretty knowledgeable about the construction industry, Doll says. They know where the fuel is stored and exactly how to steal it and transport it.

But the public can help. Some thieves were arrested after watchful new homeowners alerted authorities to suspicious activities at construction sites.

One last thing: Red offroad diesel makes vehicles smoke heavily. Odd that something restricting visibility might make it easier to see a thief.

Andrew Skerritt can be reached at 813 909-4602 or toll-free 1-800-333-7505, ext. 4602. His e-mail address is askerritt@sptimes.com.

[Last modified July 22, 2006, 20:05:01]