Thieves Employ Tunnels to Steal UC Irvine Computers

UC Irvine police are on the trail of a ring of thieves who have broken into dozens of offices during the last year and made off with $120,000 worth of computer and electronic equipment through underground tunnels that link university buildings.

The thieves, who have struck primarily during holiday breaks and over long weekends when there are few people on campus, are believed to include students and university employees, according to UC Irvine Police Lt. William Miller. They have master keys--perhaps obtained in previous breaks--and consistently take only the most valuable computer equipment.

The thieves are believed to have entered and escaped in many cases through a labyrinth of 10-foot-wide utility tunnels that provide access for repair and maintenance of electrical, cooling and other systems. Police found an empty beer can propping open a door leading to the underground tunnel system Dec. 27, when workers discovered that $17,200 worth of equipment had been stolen from offices in the Social Sciences Tower over the Christmas weekend.

“They know computers and they know their way around the utility tunnels,” Miller said. “We’re dealing with some very bright people.”

Police believe they know who is responsible for the thefts, and soon will turn over evidence collected in a yearlong investigation to the Orange County district attorney’s office, Miller said. More than six individuals are suspected in the thefts, which have occurred primarily in the Social Sciences Tower and the Administration Hall.

Victims have included Dennis Aigner, dean of the Graduate School of Management; Dennis Galligani, assistant vice chancellor of academic affairs, and Kathleen Kunz, finance director for the Office of University Advancement.

The cost of the break-ins, which began in February, 1988, is much greater than just the value of the missing equipment. Research and other data stored on computer discs in some cases may never be replaced.

“I had an entire book on my system. It’s a book I have been writing with two colleagues for three years,” said Donald Hoffman, an associate professor of psychology and computer science.

“Fortunately, I have a backup copy. You learn to keep backups for everything--almost. I had phone lists and my other miscellaneous data that I hadn’t gotten around to copying. And there is no way to replace the hundreds of hours of work that was lost.”

Aigner, the most recent victim, discovered that his Toshiba laptop computer and a disk drive valued at $3,000 were missing from his office on April 20. There was no sign of a break-in, leading police to believe that whoever stole the computer had a key to the office. The theft is believed to have occurred over the April 15-16 weekend.

Galligani said the theft from his office occurred on a weekend in February, 1988. The thief or thieves took Apple Macintosh components worth $2,000 but left behind other brands of computer equipment.

There have apparently been no witnesses and no distinguishable fingerprints to lead authorities to the culprits, Miller said. University police, however, working through an informant, have learned that the stolen equipment has been resold locally, and have repurchased one computer and an answering machine. Tracing the stolen goods has put police on the trail of the thieves, Miller said.