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Published on: 9/5/2007
Last Visited: 9/5/2007
Two weeks ago, as a final insult, they took an old radio out of a truck and drained gasoline from agency vehicles. 'I guess now they need gas for the lawn mowers,' Seagull Executive Director Fred Eisinger said.
On Friday, a private security officer started patrolling the property with a guard dog, at a high cost to the agency.It is a frustrating expense because the agency faces possible budget cuts during the upcoming special session in Tallahassee, Eisinger said.
Eisinger doesn't know whether the three incidents are related.No one has been charged, he said.
The thefts are the most recent in a series of more than a dozen that he said have cost the agency $10,000 in out-of-pocket expenses over the years.That doesn't count the value of the items covered by insurance - the total value would be closer to $20,000, Eisinger said.But every time it happens, he has to replace the small items himself or pay an insurance deductible of $1,000.
Eisinger said he has tried everything.Years ago, he rented space from a storage company down the street, storing the tools overnight.But someone broke into the rental unit.This year, he tried parking the agency vehicles in front of the locked storage shed.The thieves hot-wired the vans to drive them out of the way.
The thefts are happening at the agency's headquarters, where it also runs a workshop for people who are too disabled for the landscaping job.Seagull also has a shop in Greenacres, a charter school in Lake Worth and assisted-living facilities in Indiantown and Singer Island.
One weekend this summer, Eisinger was so fed up that he patrolled before the sun rose.He carried a flashlight, a cellphone and a baseball bat, once owned by local player Whitey Platt, that he found at a thrift store.
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