Police Search For Stolen Vans, Trucks

Updated: Saturday, 10 Sep 2011,

MYFOXNY.COM – Two vans stolen from a World Trade Center site contractor and a third taken from a storage facility in New Jersey were being specially investigated by the police department Saturday, after the federal government’s tip of a possible car bomb on the 9/11 anniversary. Police in Washington D.C. were also searching for stolen vans.
None of the thefts were connected to a specific plot, but had unusual circumstances above the average stolen vehicle, authorities said.
One of the vans, a white Econoline, was stolen from Liberty Storage, a self-storage facility in Jersey City, N.J. on Aug. 21 and had Oklahoma plates, police said. Thieves cut the phone lines, alarms and took with them surveillance video, in what could be an extensive effort to cover their tracks in a way that seemed different from the average grand larceny.
The other two, dark green Chevy vans, were stolen Sept. 1 and Sept. 2 from Tully Construction, Co. Contractors, which has been involved in recovery work at the site and is currently doing roadwork on West St. near 1 World Trade Center.
The first van was stolen at an entrance ramp to the Long Island Expressway in Queens at about 3 a.m. on Sept. 1. The assigned driver was out of the vehicle and it was stolen, possibly with the keys in it, police said. The next night, at about 9:30 p.m., the stolen van was driven to a storage area used by Tully in Queens. At least three people are believed to have broken into lockers at the site, making off with roughly $70,000 worth of tools and stealing a second van from the location, police said.
“These may be nothing more than industry-savvy thieves with an appetite for expensive construction tools but they’re receiving greater scrutiny in order to eliminate the possibility of something more sinister,” said Paul Browne, the department’s chief spokesman.
The two green vans had a red stripe on the body and a yellow turret light. No arrests have been made, and the vans have not been recovered.
Tully Construction was one of four contractors chosen to perform the clean up after the World Trade Center buildings collapsed. A message left with the company was not returned Saturday. A call to Liberty Storage was also not returned.