Historic Los Angeles statue vandalized

LOS ANGELES - A 100-year-old statue of Harrison Gray Otis in MacArthur Park has been vandalized by copper thieves.

This theft is part of a larger trend of bronze sculptures, plaques and wire being stolen all across the country.

It's a growing problem - not just here in Los Angeles, but in several other cities throughout the Southland. 

Whether it's a bronze statue, once it's melted down, most of it is copper. And that's the big prize here. Copper brings a big price on the black market, and that leads to this latest one. 

Friday night in MacArthur Park, it's where the bronze copper thieves strike yet again. This time it's a statue of a boy selling newspapers called "The Newsboy," and it's gone.

All that's left now are his two shoes stolen right from the monument itself. It's been here for more than 100 years. 

A statue of General Harrison Gray Otis is all that's left now of the historic monument. 

A closer look at that stolen monument appears to show the the fresh markings of one leg sawed off right at the angle, the other mangled - it appears to have just been ripped away. 

LAPD says security cameras nearby at the park show the thieves wearing reflective vests, disguising themselves as city workers so they wouldn't stand out. 

"Thieves are literally picking our city apart for parts to sell for scraps, said City Councilman Kevin de León.

City lawmakers two months ago launched a big crackdown on the theft of copper wires, mostly from light poles right through LA. It is a crime that's costing the city $17 million a year. 

Pasadena is also being hit by its own copper crooks. Eleven historic bronze light poles were stolen from here along South Orange Grove Boulevard last weekend. 

Since then, the new target has been copper wire. Just the last few days, it's been taken stolen mostly from light fixtures, instead of taking the poles themselves.

Stealing copper has long been a big business and long been a big problem. 

"So several months ago we had major issues with copper wire thefts. Those were ongoing almost every day for weeks to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars," said Lisa Derderian, Pasadena City Spokesperson.

Pasadena offered a reward and they made an arrest about a month ago. But now, in just the last couple of days, more copper wire stolen in that city.

Here in LA they have a reward out, too. They're hoping it will lead to some information, especially with what happened there at MacArthur Park. 

But LAPD and city leaders say it's got to stop, because they just can't be paying out millions of dollars every month because of all the copper wiring and statues that wind up missing and stolen.