Grumpy,
that nmay work in your neighborhood, but if it is left abandoned and the police had already tagged it, it is pretty much fair game in my area. Most of the time if you call on an abandoned bike here in town, the cops will come look at it take your info and let you keep it if you want it. Our annual police auction had over 500 bikes last year. That was a low number compared to other years. And we have a population of 82,000. Grey area yes, but when law enforcement allows it to happen, I don't feel as if he stole anything.
Stacey