BUCKS COUNTY, PA (KYW Newsradio) — Law enforcement in Bucks County put a knot in a Verizon utility wire theft ring they say used a horrific tragedy to their benefit and caused more than $250,000 in damage.
The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office says eight of the nine members from the self-proclaimed “Get Money Squad” were arrested and charged on Oct. 19 for things like criminal conspiracy, theft, criminal use of a communication facility, and disruption of service.
They say the group committed Verizon wire thefts in Lower Makefield Township, Upper Makefield Township, Warminster Township, Bensalem Township, and Bristol Township from May to October.
The group would climb utility poles, cut the wires, then burn off its protective layers and sell it to a scrap yard, which would cause downed Verizon services for people in that area, investigators found.
The DA’s office says some of them even posed as members of a search party looking for children who were swept away during July’s flash flood in Lower Makefield Township in order to steal more wire. The DA’s office adds they jumped on this scam knowing law enforcement would be overwhelmed with rescue efforts and because of the size of the wire in that general location.
Those charged include:
- Ryan Jeffrey Potts, 33, of Bensalem
- Marianna Harkins, 36, of Bristol Township
- Michael John Cronon, 39, of Bristol Township
- Paige Eiseman, 33, of Bristol Township
- Frederick E. Lee Sr., 64, of Bristol
- Richard Machen, 43, of Bristol
- Nicholas Palmer, 27, of Bristol Township
- Raymond Gerald Paul Jr., 38, of Doylestown
Officials are still looking for the ninth member, 52-year-old Kimberly Ann Mayger of Bristol.