Alleged heist of scrap metal thwarted by Sheriff's deputies

Five men from Rochester apparently thought they were pretty clever last night when they showed up to the CSX railroad tracks on Route 98 in the Town of Batavia with a plan to use a logging truck to steal scrap metal.

Not clever enough, though, to avoid observation by Sheriff's Deputies.

Deputy Chief Jerry Brewster told WBTA this morning that lawmen watched the alleged would-be thieves load the scrap metal onto the the logging truck and then tailed the vehicle into Batavia where the truck was stopped in a well-lit area.

The scrap metal was owned by Ed Arnold Scrap Processors of Corfu.

The five men arrested in connection with the case are:

Christopher H. Monfort, 37, of 113 Pine Street, East Rochester, charged with two counts of grand larceny. Monfort allegedly stole scrap valued in excess of $12,000 during the weekend of June 19-21. In last night's case, he's accused of trying to steal scrap worth more than $4,000. He is held without bail.

Anthony Toscano, 44, 918 S. Goodman St., Rochester, is charged with one count of grand larceny. He is held without bail.

Richard E. Riedman, 35, 542 Klem Road, Webster, is charged with one count of grand larceny. He is being held on $15,000 bail.

Anthony J. Russell, 35, of 75 Snug Harbor Court, Rochester, is charged with one count of grand larceny. He is being held in lieu of $10,000 bail.

Timothy M. Stone, 29, 3735 Chili Ave., Rochester, is charged with one count of grand larceny. He is being held on $10,000 bail.

Assisting the Sheriff's Office were the State Police and the Batavia Police Department.