Apr 3, 2013 2 min read

A $50,000 reward is being offered by Verizon for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the person responsible for the theft of copper telephone cable in Washington County.

Since Jan. 29, more than 9,000 feet of copper cable has been stolen and more than $62,500 in damage done. The most recent theft occurred March 29, when 3,000 feet of cable was stolen from poles on Hanlin Station Road and Bartleyville Road in Jefferson Township.

Other thefts were reported on Francis Mine Road, Creek Lane and Eldersville Road, all in Jefferson; Turkey Hollow, King’s Creek, Aunt Clair, Purdy, Francis Mine and Hanlin Station roads, all in Hanover Township; First Street and Meadowcroft Road in Avella; and Bertha and Plum Run roads in Smith Township. Cable also was reported stolen Jan. 22 at 110 Beham Ridge Road, East Finley Township.

“Our biggest concern is the impact on public safety with the unnecessary loss of service,” said Lee Gierczynski, manager of media relations for Verizon. “These thefts have been an ongoing problem for a number of years.”

Hundreds of local Verizon customers experienced service delays for up to several days in some cases.

“These incidents are incomprehensible because they put people’s lives in danger and can cost thousands of dollars to repair,” said Hank Abbott, director of operations for Verizon Pennsylvania. “We will not tolerate these deliberate and malicious acts against our telephone network and our customers.”

Smith police Chief Bernie Larue believes the thieves may be using all-terrain vehicle on or near the Panhandle Trail to commit the thefts.

“We’ve been getting complaints from people,” Larue said Wednesday. “Most of the problems seem to be coming from near the trail.”

The reward also applies to similar thefts in Lawrence County.

Anyone with information about the crimes is asked to call Verizon Security at 1-800-997-3287.