Haverhill police are investigating the theft of power tools, landscaping equipment and granite from Haverhill’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Mill Brook Park.
Ralph T. Basiliere, chairman of the Vietnam Veterans Ad Hoc Memorial Committee, said he discovered the theft, which he valued at between $5,000 and $8,000, when he visited the site Thursday morning at 10:30.
“I’m not going to mince words. I am howling mad. This is a particularly heinous crime because it was committed against Vietnam veterans and the taxpayers,” he said.
After the discovery, Basiliere said, he was joined at the park by fellow Commissioners Linda Baxter and Lynda Brown. He said the thefts appeared to be a “planned and coordinated” job undertaken by “scoundrels,” noting the tool box alone weighed 600 pounds.
Besides the tool box, Basiliere alerted police of the theft an electric grinder and other power equipment, extension cords and 400 to 500 pounds of granite steps that were to be installed around the flagpole.
He said the thieves left behind evidence that is being checked by Haverhill police detectives.