Criminals are familiar with specialized equipment, traveled by boat
By Andrew Harris
When the owner of specialized waterfront excavation company showed to start work in this 2021 Case CX 250 Excavator something had gone very wrong. Upon inspections, Jonathan Fields realized that he’d been a victim of a very sophisticated crime on the south end of Keuka Lake.
Thieves had targeted the machine, removing the underside of the machine to rip expensive parts. They had the right tools for the job, did the dirty work by boat, and could have caused massive damages. Fields Construction owner Jonathan Fields explains in more detail:
“So there are 30 bolts that hold the belly pan of machine on, 26 of the 30 were snapped off. The belly pan was dropped and bent, dropping the belly pan allows you to access the most expensive and vital components of machine. Luckily we noticed a broken boot under the machine caused by the vandalism. That could have been deadly, eventually causing a capsize, leaving an operator trapped inside the machine.”
The $10,000 reward is reflective of the damage done to this machine that isn’t your typical piece of heavy equipment. Fields Construction are Naples NY based, specialized waterfront developers who are preparing for a busy season of building docks on Keuka Lake. This particular machine is key to that work and as Fields explains, a very specialized unit:
“This long-reach Case excavator with BIG FLOAT REMU tracks from Germany took two years to get this machine made. The way machine was left by the vandals allowed water to build up so we are melting massive block of ice to further inspect the damage.”
If you have information about this crime, contact Fields Construction directly:
Jonathan Fields
