PA Man Nabbed for Printing Plate Theft

WILKES-BARRE, PA—An employee for a cleaning company apparently tried to clean out a newspaper's supply of aluminum printing plates worth $19,000, but the paper's surveillance cameras caught him in the act.

Eric Redick, 49, was recorded taking the plates from The Times Leader, that newspaper reported. Following an audit that revealed 230 boxes had gone missing during a stretch of several months, the newspaper notified police.

The cameras recorded Redick last Sunday morning while he was removing several boxes of the aluminum plates from the building via a cleaning cart. Police found 23 boxes of the plates inside Redick's vehicle.

Redick allegedly told police he had been stealing the plates for months and selling them at local scrap yards, the newspaper said. He was released on $20,000 unsecured bail and faces a preliminary hearing May 29.