Posted on 05/15/2004 9:00:14 AM PDT by Cultural Jihad
SBC offers $10,000 reward for phone box ‘terrorist’
WATSONVILLE — SBC Communications Inc. is offering $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of the person who broke into six phone boxes over the weekend, slicing wires and disconnecting service to some 500 customers.
One of the customers was Watsonville Community Hospital, said company spokesman John Britton, who announced the reward Wednesday.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, changes to federal law have elevated sabotage of any part of the telecommunications network to an act of terrorism, Britton said, making convicts subject to fines and prison terms of up to 20 years.
"Phones are an essential part of our lives, and we think it’s serious," he said. "That is why we are offering $10,000."
Phone wires were sliced in boxes on Carnation Drive, Ford Street, South Green Valley Road and Hangar Way, police said, adding that they have few leads to go on.
Britton said the vandal appeared to have "special knowledge and the right equipment," though he doesn’t know if it was an "inside job. "
SBC started getting complaints of lost service about 8 a.m. Saturday and had restored service by the following morning, he said.
District Attorney Bob Lee said the U.S. Attorney’s Office would have to file terrorist charges and prove such intent. Otherwise, he said, it’s a malicious mischief or grand theft charge, which is a felony if it causes more than $400 damage.
Watsonville police Capt. Eddie Rodriguez said disrupting phone service is taken seriously by police also, as it jeopardizes the ability to call for emergency service.
"I can understand the phone company’s hard stand on this," he said. "We can’t have people out there vandalizing these lines. Unfortunately for us, the way boxes are situated, it is easy to access them, and they can be defeated if someone knows what they are doing."
Britton said he was not sure how much damage the sliced wires caused, but said it was largely labor costs. Such acts are pretty rare, he said.
Contact Cathy Redfern at credfern@santacruzsentinel.com.
I resent vandalism being equated with terrorism. That lessens the impact of terrorism.
Remember that this is from the Santa Cruz Sentinel. In Santa Cruz, lessening the impact of terrorism is a GOOD thing.
Hear hear! Terrorism was terrorism before the "PATRIOT" acts. What we now have is the enhanced ability for any politically connected whiner to get their complaint elevated to the level of pseudo-terrorism and siphon resources away from fighting real terrorism.
SBC is good at creating a lot of enemies. They treat their customers like dirt.
Nothing more than vandalism here, probably due to the mishandling of a situation.
I agree...this is a waste of the word, terrorism.
Well, we've got LOTS of pairs of dikes in Santa Cruz, or is that dykes?
Plenty of dykes around...
Damm you!
Ya snooze, ya lose!
~</;o)
It happened in Watsonville, which is a Mecca for illegal aliens, not lesbians.
Ah, yes. But the lesbians are all over the county.
Yeah. I paused for a sip of coffee...
See...that's what happens. I gave up coffee years ago.
Heheheh.
500 customers big deal. The backhoe operator I used to work with would take out a 2000 pair cable at least once a week.
If this is terrorisim the He will be in jail very soon.
Lesbian aliens, oh what next flying monkeys did it?
How about juvenile crime? You know, the not my son crowd, like the parents of Mitnick and Berg!
OPs4 God Bless America!
The jihadis said they were going to do the "1000 cuts" and start resisting and disrupting whenever they could...how often has a phone box been destroyed? These islamonazis are everywhere and have access to all parts of our society..OH I FORGOT..they are all MODERATE members of the RELIGION OF PEACE...SORRY!
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