Spectrum, Verizon Offer $25,000 Rewards After Los Angeles Cable Thefts Disrupt Thousands
Updated
Updated · KABC-TV · Aug 18
Spectrum, Verizon Offer $25,000 Rewards After Los Angeles Cable Thefts Disrupt Thousands
3 articles · Updated · KABC-TV · Aug 18
Summary
$25,000 rewards from Spectrum and Verizon are now on offer for information leading to convictions in separate August cable thefts that knocked thousands of Los Angeles-area customers offline.
Aug. 7 fiber cuts hit Spectrum first, and Verizon lines were cut and stolen days later, disrupting phone and internet service across the region.
59% more communications-infrastructure attacks were reported nationwide last year, while Los Angeles logged the most cable and wire thefts in the country—more than double Houston's total.
Copper at $6.61 a pound, up from just over $2 a decade ago, is driving more theft attempts, but investigators said the recent lines contained no copper and were likely taken by thieves who mistook fiber for valuable wire.
No arrests have been made; investigators are still tracing suspects, even as AT&T said some stolen copper was recently recovered at a South El Monte recycling facility.