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- NATION, Page 23American NotesLOS ANGELESUncovering the Manhole Men
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- The disappearance of 300 manhole covers weighing as much as
- 300 lbs. each over the past three weeks had Los Angeles police
- mystified. It seemed unlikely that tourists were swiping them
- as souvenirs or that many people could easily use them as
- tiddledywinks or Frisbees.
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- Some Angelenos theorized that kids were filching the things
- in tribute to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, who use manhole
- covers for shields. The least plausible idea was that someone
- was stealing the covers for money. After all, a manhole cover
- only commands at most $6 as scrap. Yet when the case was solved
- last week, that theory proved right. Most of the missing covers
- turned up at a scrap-metals yard, and cops collared two
- culprits, dubbed the Manhole Men, with a pickup truck loaded
- with more manhole covers. They were charged with grand theft
- and receiving stolen property.
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