There's a scene in the movie Bernie where a man talks about a district attorney:
One thing Danny Buck's good at is getting Danny Buck re-elected. And he gets his little photo ops in the paper, busting up the copper rings or the hub-cap rings, or the meth labs, but in slow times, Danny Buck be out digging up some shit.
I think "ring" here obviously means "gang," but what are "copper rings" and "hub-cap rings"? There is no previous mention in the movie, and these seem out of the blue.