Sabotage ruled out in Sprint robbery

Investigators have ruled out the possibility that the theft of highly sophisticated computer equipment from a Sprint telephone central office was part of a targeted infrastructure attack.

The masked robbers who stormed the office's front door Jan. 3, tying up and incapacitating three people inside with stun guns and then making off with the valuable equipment, said nothing to the victims to convey a message of intended sabotage, authorities said.

And the fact that no group has claimed responsibility for the incident in the weeks following the attack has the FBI confident that the robbers likely sought out the equipment only for its profit potential.

FBI Special Agent Kevin Caudle said the bureau is currently exploring the crime as a likely Hobbs Act violation, a federal-level felony involving the interference or conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by the use or threat of violence.

A month's investigation, however, has Metro Police, the FBI and Sprint releasing little more than a sketchy suspect description of between three to five robbers in ski masks.

Sprint's Detra Page maintains that the rumors of one or more disgruntled employees being the masterminds behind the crime are false.

"We have never had any reason to believe that anyone connected to Sprint was involved in any way," she said. "The equipment is very valuable, and was probably stolen to be resold in another market."

An explanation for how swiftly the robbers moved through the building has yet to emerge.

The bandits unsuccessfully attempted to burst open a back door using a blow torch, and finally forced their way in the front door after an employee inside answered their knock. They seemed to know exactly what they wanted and where to look, committing the crime in less than 20 minutes, police said.

Dismantling the equipment inside the Spring Mountain Road office, just west of Jones Boulevard, caused more than 75,000 customers -- from Sunset Road to Oakey Boulevard and Hualapai Way to Interstate 15 -- to immediately lose all telephone service.

The three victims were tied up and stunned. At least two required medical attention.

Sprint crews were able to swap in parts from other offices and service was restored shortly after the robbery.

The targeted office is one of Sprint's larger central offices. Sprint has 14 central offices in Las Vegas and one each in Henderson, Boulder City and Laughlin. Central offices are where a telephone company's subscriber lines are joined to switching equipment for connecting to other lines, both locally and long distance.

Page said that Sprint's central offices vary in layout, with no two buildings sharing the same configuration because of the ongoing changes in telephone technology.

The robbers hit on a Sunday when only three people were at the facility. As many as 18 people are known to work inside the large building at peak staffing hours. The property includes a large yard where vehicles are kept.

Most Sprint employees, Page said, are long term and the average tenure is 15 years. The company does not have a high employee turnover rate, she said.

"We actually have trouble finding enough qualified employees," Page explained. "We are constantly searching technical schools across the country. The growth in Las Vegas is constantly making it tougher, because of the increasing number of homes with second and third lines -- teen talk lines and Internet lines. I think it's the same for telephone companies in other parts of the country, as well."

The comment is in stark contrast to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' 1998-99 employment outlook, which blames the advent of sophisticated digital systems -- the most recent version of electronic switching via computers and software -- for gradual reduction in telephone company jobs for installers and maintenance workers.

The computerized new systems are considered to be more reliable, compact, efficient, and equipped with self-diagnosing features that detect the source of problems and direct repair workers to the defective part, which usually only has to be replaced.

The BLS report cites improved technology for some layoffs in the communications industry, and claims that all U.S. telephone companies will be converted to digital systems by 2006.

Sprint is still refusing to disclose the value of the stolen equipment. Page said the equipment is smaller in size than a standard personal computer. The equipment is useful only in large-scale communications operations, she said, adding that it would be of no use to the average citizen.

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