Advertisement Cut lines knock out Verizon service; union denies sabotage Contractors called to fix line in Banksville, 3 other communities Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Vandalism against Verizon communication lines disrupted service to customers in four communities around the Pittsburgh area Thursday. That brings the number of cases to seven, since a strike by Verizon workers began more than three weeks ago, and a Verizon spokesman said "it seems more than coincidental."More than 200 customers lost Verizon phone, internet, and TV service in the city's Banksville neighborhood when someone cut a cable around midnight at Carnahan Road and Maydell Street. VIDEO: Watch Bob Mayo's reportThe cable was cut at a ground-level box on a utility pole, but the repairs by replacement contractors involved overhead lines and took hours. Some Banksville residents said contractors told them the vandalism was strike-related, but corporate spokesmen stopped short of making the accusation. Verizon says there were also two acts of vandalism in Perrysville and one in Glenshaw. Previously, Verizon says, there was vandalism in Uniontown, Mt. Lebanon and Bridgeville.About 4,000 Verizon workers are on strike locally -- among tens of thousands more on strike across nine states and in Washington, D/C."I don't think it's right for them to vandalize equipment like that. They're putting a lot of lives in danger. You know, it's not just hurting the company," said customer Dale Checketts of Banksville, whose home was affected by the resulting outage."The TV just went blank and I thought the TV had broken," said Ron Dabecco, whose relatives' home lost Verizon service. He said when they picked up the phone, they heard "nothing, not even a dial tone," and they would not have been able to call 911 using their land line phone.Verizon spokesman Rich Young said that Verizon normally has five cases of vandalism a year across nine states and the District of Columbia. He said there have been 98 cases since the strike began over three weeks ago, including at least 20 in Pennsylvania."We have no idea who the perpetrators are, but it seems more than coincidental," Young told Pittsburgh's Action News 4.A Communications Workers of America union official said the accusations are "untrue and unjust" and that "the union does not condone vandalism of any kind.""We do not believe that it's strike related or caused by anyone on strike. We're in a peaceful strike. We've been negotiating for more than 10 months and we're just trying to get a fair contract," Tom Crawford, West Region Vice President for CWA Local 13000, told Pittsburgh's Action News 4.Crawford said the problem is Verizon contractors, who he calls "untrained and unqualified."Last week, Verizon said it was investigating 57 suspected cases of sabotage and other criminal activity involving vandalized terminal boxes and fiber-optic cables in five states. The company has offered a reward and suggested that striking workers are to blame for the damage.Related: Verizon strikers: Sick of working hours away from homeRelated: Verizon strikers take their fight to shareholdersRelated: Verizon offers union its 'last, best and final offer'