Guilty pleas entered in 5-state arson spree

Six people have pleaded guilty to involvement in Earth Liberation and Animal Liberation Front cells that carried out major arsons across a five-state region, including Washington.

The guilty pleas, and pledges of cooperation with U.S. attorneys, were entered during the past two days in U.S. District Court in Oregon. They reflect settlements that for each defendant cover crimes they committed in any of the five states. The defendants are expected to be sentenced in December, with recommended prison terms ranging from 37 months to 15 years.

"This is a substantial step in wrapping up this prosecution, and dealing with the ELF and ALF," said Stephen Peifer, an Oregon assistant U.S. attorney.

The cells sought to promote environmental and animal rights by destroying private and public property. During a six-year period that ended in 2001, they carried out 15 arsons, one attempted arson and an act of vandalism that toppled a federal transmission tower, according to government prosecutors.

Two of those crimes were in Washington, a 1998 fire that damaged a U.S. Department of Agriculture building in Olympia and a 2001 fire that destroyed the University of Washington's Urban Horticulture Center in Seattle.

In their court appearances, all six individuals — Kevin Tubbs, Darren Todd Thurston, Kendall Tankersley, Stanislas Meyerhoff, Chelsea Gerlach and Suzanne Savoie — pleaded guilty to their involvement in an overall conspiracy involving the ELF and ALF.

But prosecutors said Friday that the plea did mean that each individual was involved in all the crimes or was aware of all the acts in a conspiracy that allegedly involved at least 14 people.

None of the six were specifically charged in the UW horticulture center fire. Tubbs, of Eugene, Ore., was charged in the 1998 fire at the Olympia agriculture department building that caused about $1.2 million in damage.

Under the deal, prosecutors will recommend a sentence of 15 years for Meyerhoff and slightly more than 14 years for Tubbs.

If either Meyerhoff or Tubbs had taken his case to trial, he would have risked life imprisonment if convicted of all the charges in an initial indictment.

In Tubbs' case, prosecutors say the recommended sentence was influenced by recent efforts to cooperate, his acceptance of responsibility for his crimes and his conduct during the past five years when he lived quietly in Eugene.

"I think this individual has moved away from the movement and has been law abiding. And that makes a difference," said Kirk Engdall, an assistant U.S. attorney in Eugene.

The recommended sentences for the others are somewhat shorter, including 10 years for Gerlach, more than five for Savoie, more than four for Tankersley and just over three for Thurston, according to Peifer.

The ELF and ALF arson attacks hit a range of targets, including Forest Service buildings, a private poplar farm, a wild-horse corral in eastern Oregon and an SUV dealership in Eugene.

The most damaging arson occurred in Colorado, where the 1998 fires at the Vail ski area caused an estimated $12 million in damages.

Two individuals charged with participation in the Vail fires — Gerlach and Meyerhoff — entered plea agreements Friday.

Year after year, federal officials tried — and failed — to piece together enough evidence to bring charges. And, as the damage toll grew, the FBI ranked the groups among the nation's top domestic terrorism groups.

The cases were eventually cracked open with the help of an informant and former cell member, Jacob Ferguson, who gave investigators inside accounts of many of the crimes and also secretly tape-recorded some other defendants.

Those who entered plea agreements are required to aid prosecutors as they press their cases against seven other defendants. After that assistance, they will be sentenced.

Three of those defendants — Joseph Dibee, a former Microsoft worker, Josephine Overaker and Rebecca Rubin — are now considered to be fugitives.

The other four — Jonathan Paul, Daniel McGowan, Nathan Fraser Block and Joyanna Zacher — are scheduled to face trial Oct. 31.

Hal Bernton: 206-464-2581 or hbernton@seattletimes.com