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Lyndhurst Man Accused Of Possessing More Than 2,600 Pounds Of Stolen Sewer Grates

LYNDHURST, N.J. (CBSNewYork) - Lyndhurst Police Chief James O'Connor was off duty when he was driving along Delafield Avenue and noticed something strange about the Chevy Blazer in front of him.

It was riding extremely low to the ground - the tail of the truck so low that it was very nearly scraping the pavement.

O'Connor called for a patrol officer to pull the Blazer over.

Stolen Sewer Grates
Police say these sewer grates were found in the back of Eric Basile's truck on July 12, 2012. (credit: Lyndhurst Police)

That's when they figured out what was causing it: 14 sewer grates, weighing about 188 pounds each, were stuffed in the back of the truck.

The driver, 20-year-old Eric Basile, was arrested and charged with possession of stolen property.

Police also ticketed Basile for driving the vehicle while exceeding legal carrying limits by roughly 2,650 pounds.

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