Hey, buddy, want to buy several hundred manhole covers?

You know, I'm starting to think that scrap metal dealers may not be the most scrupulous people:

City officials in Flint say they've had to replace hundreds of manhole covers and grates that likely were stolen and sold for scrap.

The Flint Journal reports Monday that nearly 400 covers and grates have been taken from the city's streets during the past year. A cover can fetch $20 from a scrap yard but can cost the city more than $200 to replace.

I mean, who just rolls up with a bunch of manhole covers for sale? That's not an item that most people have lying around their garages. In fact, the only places you usually find manhole covers is, you know, over manholes.

Oh, maybe that's their line. "I just found this lying in the street..."