I'll be the first to agree that cutting the lock (on a stripped frame) was wrong. It was probably ten years ago(and I wasn't as wise as I am now). However, to my defense, all the bikes I've seen @ the university and police auctions have wheels. I believe that frames are tossed.

When I say that I pick up tossed bikes, they are out with the trash (not too uncommon here) and are clearly being thrown away. I've gotten at least 3 bikes this way, and have turned down many others because they aren't the quality I am looking for.

Now, let me also set the scene a little: in this town, a lot of stuff is thrown out when the semester ends. It is a small town (~25,000 when school is out, ~50,000 when school is in).

Edit:
Oh, and another little cop story. I have one bike that I just picked up. I have a friend that lives near the rail road tracks. Late at night, she saw this dude walking a bike by the tracks. Her bike had been stolen a few months back. So she sees him, and yells out: Yo, where did you get that bike! (it did not resemble hers) and the dude drops it and walks away. So she calls the cops. He[the cop] comes by, looks at the bike, says to the effect: "well I can't tell whose it is, it has no stickers on it" he leaves it(the university here requires stickers on campus). Now you and I know that all bikes have a S/N number on them, usually on the BB. The cop didn't care. Who ever had the bike pieced it togeather. It was built for 26" wheels, but had a 24" rear. The seatpost was the wrong size. The rear derailleur cable was missing. Now it is sitting on my porch. I'm planning on fixing it and getting to another friend of mine.