A Long Island man has been arrested for stealing numerous manhole covers and sewer caps from various locations in Suffolk County this month, police say.
Police say 45-year-old Ronald Dimarzo, of Ronkonkoma, was targeting business locations during the early morning hours and removing iron covers to scrap the material for money.
He was arrested Thursday. It wasn't known how many manhole covers he's accused of stealing.
Dimarzo's alleged theft posed a severe danger to anyone walking near the open manholes because they could've fallen into the holes. Police say rescuing a potential victim who fell into the manhole would also have endangered emergency responders. Fortunately, no one fell in.
Dimarzo was charged with six counts of petit larceny, six counts of reckless endangerment, attempted petit larceny and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. He is scheduled to be arraigned Friday at First District Court in Central Islip.
It wasn't immediately clear if Dimarzo had a lawyer.
The investigation is ongoing and police urge anyone with information to call the Sixth Precinct Crime Section at 631-854-8654 or anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 800-220-TIPS.
