SARATOGA COUNTY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The FBI and Saratoga County Sheriff are investigating a case that involves tampering of a railroad track.
Wednesday, Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Albany Field Office joined Michael Zurlo, Saratoga County Sheriff, to announce $10,000 FBI reward for information related to the case.
“It is our understanding that a derailment of a train on this rail line would have resulted in serious injury or death,” DiGuiseppi said.
“Anyone that has any information, even if you believe it is not important,” said Zurlo, “contact us immediately.”
According to officials, the “deliberate tampering” is associated with the Saratoga Corinth and Hudson Railway passenger line. It happened somewhere on tracks parallel to Route 9N near Emery Lane.
Saratoga Corinth & Hudson Railway is located at 9 Railroad Place, Corinth, N.Y. 12866. The scenic train adventure had its grand opening in May 2022. Special themed rides (for example: pizza party & sunset rides) and seasonal rides have been offered.
An employee of the railway performing a routine inspection noticed the tampering attempt in early June. While officials can’t go into detail about how the tracks were messed with, Hal Raven, owner of the railway, gave us a clue.
“It wasn’t your standard, you know, kids playing on the tracks, putting rocks or putting debris on the tracks and things like that,” he explained, it was done intentionally, and you know, you had to have some type of tools with you to be able to do something like this.“
It was Raven’s dream to operate a business like this one, offering sunset rides with dinner service, and themed trips for the holidays. Since it opened in May of last year, it’s been a hit.
“We’re a small, family-owned business, so you know, things like that really hit home,” Raven said, “and we put a lot into the community, and in building this back up, and offering jobs and fun activities.”
He’s grateful his highly trained crew caught the problem during inspection, before tragedy could happen. The railway did not have to close down as a result of the tampering. Now, he wants to see whoever did this brought to justice.
FBI officials said they’ve been working the case since June, and hope the major cash reward will help them close it.
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact the FBI’s Toll-Free tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324). You may also contact your local FBI office, the nearest American Embassy or Consulate, or you can submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.
You can watch the full press conference below:
