AT&T increases reward in cable vandalism to $250,000
Late last eek vandals cut fiber optic cables in three California counties, disrupting communication and commerce; AT&T increases reward for information which will lead to capturing the vandals
Authorities hope a quarter-million-dollar reward will persuade a tipster to lead them to the vandals who severed underground fiber-optic cables, cutting off phone service for tens of thousands of people and disrupting life throughout southern Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and San Benito counties in California. Investigators said late last week they are tracking down at least ten leads and reviewing traffic-camera footage taken near one of four sites where the cables were cut Thursday in hopes of a breakthrough.
San Francisco Chronicle’s John Coté and Michael Taylor write that AT&T, which owns many of the severed cables, increased the $100,000 reward it offered after the cables were sabotaged to $250,000 on Friday, an incentive that police believe will be compelling. “This case is going to be solved through a citizen contact,” said San Jose police Sgt. Ronnie Lopez, calling the reward “huge.”
No suspects have been named. Police revealed little about the investigation, saying some physical evidence had been found but providing no details.
The sabotage crippled parts of the three counties. Public safety crews that rely on 911 calls, hospitals trying to access medical records and people who wanted to make a landline or cell phone call, use an ATM or make a purchase with a credit card found services down. Repairs were completed, and full service was restored early Friday, about 24 hours after the first problems were reported.
Although many people trying to get emergency help via 911 were unable to do so for much of Thursday, officials were cautiously optimistic that no major problems had gone unreported. “We’ve been running around doing a lot of service calls, but nothing as far as any major crime or emergency that was discovered,” said Santa Cruz County sheriff’s Sgt. Christine Swannack.
Lifting manhole covers
Most of the ten severed fiber-optic cables were in San Jose, where the first four were cut shortly before 1:30 a.m. Thursday in an underground vault along Monterey Highway north of Blossom Hill Road. Those belong to AT&T. Four more underground cables, at least two of which belong to AT&T, were cut about two hours later at two locations near each other along Old County Road near Bing Street in San Carlos, authorities said. Two others were cut in south San Jose.
Each time, the vandals had to pry up manhole covers, climb down into vaults and chop through the thick cables. Considering their importance to public safety and the economy, fiber-optic
