By: Joe Strupp Thieves being described as "drill-bit bandits" are breaking into dozens of news racks in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area of Florida, stealing cash from independent distributors of The Tampa Tribune and St. Petersburg Times.
Tampa Bay Online, a Web site of the Tribune, reports that the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office has taken 30 theft reports in recent weeks, adding that St. Petersburg police say complaints are "stacking up there, too."
At least 17 independent contractors in Pinellas have been victims of hundreds of thefts during the past two weeks, Tribune District Manager Peggy Bowling told WFLA TV, also owned by Tribune parent Media General.
At the St. Petersburg Times, carriers have reported 300 thefts in the past four or five weeks, Craig Holley, Times deputy director of consumer marketing, said in the story.
"It's probably a small collection of people who found out it's an easy way to make some money," Holley said in a WFLA Web story.
The story said in each case thieves use the same method to steal cash boxes: a drill with a hardened bit forcing open the locks.
One distributor said in the story thieves have struck every one of his 37 boxes several times and are costing him up to $800 per week.
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