Stony Point Man Charged In $50K Copper Wire Theft From O&R In West Nyack

A Stony Point man has been arrested in connection with the theft of a $50,000 supply of copper wire reported stolen from an Orange and Rockland Utilities substation in West Nyack last month, Clarkstown police said this afternoon.

Joseph Squillante, 47, was charged with third-degree grand larceny by members of the Clarkstown Detective Bureau who investigated the theft 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.

Squillante was arraigned in Clarkstown Town Court in New City and ordered held in the Rockland County Correctional Facility in New City pending a hearing on April. 2.

Police said Squillante, a home-improvement contractor, is believed to have had help in hauling away the wire from West Nyack and then bringing it in several loads to a scrap metal dealer in Westchester County. Police said several other people are being sought be questions in connection with the theft.

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

The investigation include 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.