UPDATE:
Note: Photos and more links at article site.
NOTE The following text is a quote:
http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/march/eco-terrorist_032012/eco-terrorist_032012
Eco-Terrorist Sentenced
Help Us Find Remaining Operation Backfire Fugitives
03/20/12
After he was indicted in 2006 for firebombing a University of Washington research facility, Justin Solondz became an international fugitive, beginning an odyssey that would land him in a Chinese jail—and finally before a federal judge in Seattle, who sentenced him last week to seven years in prison.
Solondz, 32, was a member of an eco-terrorist cell known as “The Family,” which committed an estimated $48 million worth of arson and vandalism across the Pacific Northwest and western U.S. between 1996 and 2001 under the names of the Animal Liberation Front and the Earth Liberation Front.
Help Us Find Fugitives
If you have any information on the three fugitives from The Family, Josephine Overaker, Joseph Dibee, and Rebecca Rubin, please contact us in one the following ways:
- Local FBI field offices
- Oversees FBI offices
- Electronic tips and public leads form
Three members of The Family are still on the run, and there is a reward for information leading to their arrest.
The cell’s most notorious crime was the 1998 arson of a Vail, Colorado ski resort that caused $26 million in damages and drew international attention to eco-terrorists—those who break the law in misguided and malicious attempts to protect the environment and animal rights. We took the lead in the Vail investigation, working closely with our local, state, and federal law enforcement counterparts. In 2004, multiple eco-terror investigations were condensed into Operation Backfire.
We need your help to bring the three remaining fugitives from The Family to justice. A reward of up to $50,000 each is being offered for information leading to the arrest of Joseph Dibee, Josephine Overaker, and Rebecca Rubin, all believed to be living abroad.
Here is what we know about the trio:
Dibee was indicted in 2006 on charges of arson, conspiracy, and animal enterprise terrorism. He is believed to be living in Syria with family members.
Overaker was indicted in 2004 and 2006 for her involvement with the 1998 Vail arson and other crimes. She is believed to have spent time in Germany and may have settled in Spain. She speaks fluent Spanish.
Rubin was indicted in 2006 for the Vail arson and other acts of domestic terrorism. A Canadian citizen, she has strong family ties to Canada and may be living there.
Investigators identified Solondz as a member of The Family in the spring of 2006, said Special Agent Ted Halla in our Seattle office. “He was traveling overseas, and we started tracking him through Europe to Russia, Mongolia, and then China. He realized we were after him,” Halla said. “He liquidated his bank accounts and tried to hide his tracks online. By the summer of 2006, he disappeared in China.”
The ski resort in Vail, Colorado before and after the arson.
Working through our legal attaché office in Beijing, we learned that Solondz had been arrested in China for manufacturing drugs and sentenced to prison. He served nearly three years before the Chinese released him to our custody.
As part of his plea, Solondz admitted building the firebomb that was planted in the office of a University of Washington horticultural researcher. He and The Family mistakenly believed the researcher was genetically altering trees. The fire ruined the researcher’s work along with the work of dozens of other students and researchers.
“The Solondz case has been a long process,” Halla said. “When you are after someone for that many years, it’s a big relief to see the individual finally brought to justice.”
Resources:
- Press release
- Operation Backfire story
NOTE The following text SNIPPET is a quote:
www.fbi.gov/seattle/press-releases/2012/last-defendant-arrested-in-uw-horticulture-center-arson-sentenced-to-prison
Last Defendant Arrested in UW Horticulture Center Arson Sentenced to Prison
Student Who Built Fire Bomb, Drove Getaway Car Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison
U.S. Attorney’s Office
March 16, 2012
Western District of Washington
The last participant arrested in the 2001 arson of the University of Washington Center for Urban Horticulture was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to seven years in prison and three years of supervised release, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. JUSTIN SOLONDZ, 32, pleaded guilty last December to conspiracy and arson. At sentencing U.S. District Judge Ronald B. Leighton said, “People who have deep passions about political events sometimes permit themselves to view themselves as above the law.... One of the things that bind us as a civilized people is adherence to the rule of law.... It is the only code that binds civilized people together .... You have attacked that belief and that system.”
“This defendant destroyed a public building, derailed the careers of dedicated UW students and faculty members, and put firefighters and others at risk,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. “The victims of this crime paid a heavy price, and now it is time for Mr. Solondz to pay his debt and be held accountable.”
In his plea agreement, SOLONDZ admits he built the firebombs in a “clean room” behind an Olympia residence, transported them to Seattle, and remained in the car as a getaway driver during the arson. The plea agreement details how SOLONDZ left the country in 2005, and, when he learned of arrests in the arson case, decided to stay abroad, traveling under a false name. In early 2009, SOLONDZ was arrested by Chinese authorities for manufacturing drugs. He was returned to the United States in July 2011, in the custody of the FBI.
In their request for the seven-year sentence, prosecutors describe how the fire impacted many lives. “The scars from that night, however, have not fully healed. Solondz’ actions caused over six million dollars in damage, as the entire building had to be scrapped and rebuilt. Solondz’ actions placed the lives of firefighters at risk, as they struggled to contain the towering inferno that had engulfed the building. And they had the potential to put other persons at risk as well....Solondz’ actions also dealt enormous setbacks to countless professors, researchers, and students, who saw years of hard work and research go up in flames. They destroyed a significant portion of an extensive library, which contained many rare texts and original research materials that could not be replaced. And they terrorized the occupants of the building and members of their families, many of who suffered long-lasting emotional impact from the arson,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo.
The UW fire bombing was part of a string of 17 arsons across the west by the radical groups the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) and the Animal Liberation Front (ALF). The arson spree caused tens of millions of dollars in damage. In all, 15 people have been convicted of crimes related to a string of fires across the western United States investigated under “Operation Backfire.” All those connected with the UW arson have been ordered to share in restitution to the University of Washington and the State of Washington totaling $6,092,649.
In addition to the defendants who have been convicted, the leader of the arson cell, and the fifth participant in the UW Center for Urban Horticulture arson, William C. Rodgers, 40, of Prescott, Arizona, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Seattle in connection with the case. However, Rodgers committed suicide in December 2005, while being held in the Coconino County Jail in Prescott, Arizona.
This case is the result of a 10-year investigation by law enforcement. The Seattle Fire Department battled the blaze. Participating in the extensive investigation were the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), the Eugene Police Department, the Oregon State Police, the University of Washington Police Department, and other state and federal law enforcement agencies.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Andrew Friedman and Thomas Woods.