The owner of Huntington, West Virginia-based West End Metals has been convicted of possessing more than 70,000 pounds of nonferrous scrap that was determined to have been stolen.
An April 19, 2016, online article by the Parkersburg News and Sentinel says “West End Recycling accepted 74,191 pounds of nickel and copper wire worth more than $315,000 over a three-year span.”
80-year-old William “Bill” Smith and West End Recycling were indicted on 202 counts in 2015 “related to receiving stolen scrap metal,” according to the news report. The charges are considered an organized crime infraction based on a West Virginia law enacted to help deter metal theft.
Smith entered what is known as a Kennedy plea (also called an Alford plea), which entails a conviction without an admission of guilt by the defendant.
Smith is scheduled to be sentenced in mid-June 2016 and faces up to 10 years in prison and fines up to $25,000.
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