A Hamburg man is being accused of recent bizarre acts of vandalism that involved using a chain saw to partially cut through five utility poles in Orchard Park.

The recent windstorm caused three of these damaged poles to crash to the ground, police say.

Gregory J. Seifert, 43, was arrested on Monday and is being charged with five counts of criminal mischief in the second degree and three counts of criminal tampering in the first degree.

He was held in the Erie County Holding Center after being unable to post the $2,500 bail. A felony hearing is scheduled for today in Orchard Park Town Court.

“We don’t know what the motive is behind the person or persons responsible,” said Detective Lt. Patrick McMaster on Monday, before the arrest.

No one was injured when the poles fell about two weeks ago.

During the windstorm on Jan. 13, more than 6,000 residents in the northern and western part of town and in areas of West Seneca lost power. NYSEG crews came to Orchard Park to investigate the damage.

When they arrived at the access road behind California Road — across from Quaker Crossing Plaza — they found three of their 95-foot utility poles not in the air but on the ground, tangled in National Grid power lines. The downed power lines explained the loss of power.

But it wasn’t just wind that caused the poles to topple. Upon closer examination, crews observed deep, horizontal cuts, three-quarters of the way through, into the poles. Someone had used a chain saw.

After seeing these cuts, which were the same in all the downed poles, NYSEG immediately notified Orchard Park police.

“So we could start an investigation,” explained McMaster.

A few days later, on Jan. 16, a witness reported to police a wobbling utility pole on Taylor Road. Police arrived and found the unstable pole had also been cut through, almost the whole way.

As they investigated further, they found another pole further down, on South Taylor Road behind John Deere Landscapes, that displayed the same-size cut. Unlike the first three poles, these two did not fall.

After the arrest, McMaster detailed what led to it: On Jan. 3, patrolman Brian Lukowski reported seeing a wagon on Taylor Road across from the baseball diamonds. He also saw footprints leading behind the railroad tracks. Shortly after he saw a man coming out of the woods. Inside the wagon, he saw a chain saw. According to McMaster, Lukowski spoke with Seifert briefly but didn’t, at the time, have any incriminating evidence.

“We knew where he started walking and where he was found,” said McMaster. “And we recovered evidence linking him to the crime.”

A NYSEG spokesperson said the company is cooperating with the investigation and has no comments at this time.

McMaster added that he’s never heard of a similar incident in Orchard Park or in any other part of Western New York.

Anyone with more information is asked to call the Orchard Park Police Department Detective Bureau at 662-6475, ext. 4018.

email: nspencer@beenews.com