4 more plead guilty in ecosabotage cases; trial may be avoided

PORTLAND — Four more people Thursday pleaded guilty to arson crimes on behalf of the Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front, raising the possibility that the Justice Department's largest-ever prosecution of ecosabotage will wrap up without a trial.

Since the first arrests in December, the federal government in Washington and Oregon has obtained 12 guilty pleas from men and women who participated in more than 20 arsons and other acts of sabotage in six states. Four other alleged participants have fled the country, including former Microsoft computer-programmer Joseph Dibee, whom federal officials believe has taken refuge in Syria.

Only one defendant still is preparing for a trial. She is Briana Waters, a California violin teacher accused of acting as a lookout in the 2001 arson that destroyed the University of Washington Urban Horticulture Center.

The most recent pleas unfolded Thursday in U.S. District Court in Eugene. They prompted Robert Jordan, FBI special agent in charge for Oregon, to declare victory in a decadelong effort to track down and prosecute the stealthy arsonists of the ELF and ALF.

Calling themselves "the family," cell members fabricated bombs in clean rooms without leaving behind telltale evidence and used hand signals and code words to maintain secrecy. Between 1996 and 2001, various members of the group launched attacks against federal, university and private property that caused some $30 million worth of damage.

"Instead of using reason and logic, they used fire bombs and destruction. Instead of using peaceful, lawful methods they used fears and threats," Jordan said in Portland.

The guilty pleas reflect the strength of the government's evidence, which was bolstered by extensive informants' testimony. The pleas also reflect the harsh consequences should defendants risk a trial and end up being convicted.

Under mandatory minimum sentences approved by Congress, judges would have been required to send most of the defendants to prison for at least 30 years, and some risked life imprisonment for use of firebombs.

Two of the defendants who pleaded guilty in Eugene court are Washington residents. Joyanna L. Zarcher, 28, and Nathan F. Block, 25, who lived together in Olympia before their arrests earlier this year. The government recommended that each serve eight years in prison.

Jonathan Paul, a high-profile Northwest environmental activist who joined in the 1999 protests against the Makah whaling hunt, also entered a guilty plea Thursday.

Paul joined in the July 21, 1997, arson at the Cavel West Horse Meatpacking Plant in Redmond, Ore. The government recommended that he serve five years in prison.

In a statement Thursday, Paul said that his crime was in response to the slaughter of wild horses — "the personification of the American spirit." As Paul viewed the flames, he realized that "fire was an unacceptable means to an end, no matter how compelling," according to the statement.

Paul now lives in southern Oregon, where he has been a volunteer firefighter.

Daniel McGowan, another defendant, spoke of his crimes as he entered his plea.

"I hope you will see that my actions were not those of a terrorist, but of a concerned young person who was deeply troubled by the destruction of Oregon's beautiful old-growth forests and the dangers of genetically modified trees," McGowan, 32, of New York City, said in a tearful statement in court. "... I realized that burning things down did not fit with my visions or belief about how to create a better world. So I stopped committing these crimes."

McGowan's recommended sentence is eight years.

A sentencing date for the defendants has not been set.

The four plea agreements entered Thursday differed in one substantial way from earlier plea agreements: These defendants acknowledged their crimes. But unlike defendants involved in earlier plea agreements, they did not pledge to provide information to assist in prosecuting other individuals, according to Amanda Lee, a Seattle attorney representing McGowan.

These agreements were reached about two months after defendants, in court motions, demanded to know whether warrantless wiretaps by the National Security Agency were used against them.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Engdall said surveillance was not a factor. Defense attorney Amanda Lee of Seattle said the timing of the plea agreement led her to believe it was.

Engdall and other state, federal and Eugene city officials say that persistence and interagency cooperation were key to cracking the case. They also enlisted the aid of an early informant, Jake Ferguson, who secretly tape-recorded conversations with others.

Though Ferguson has acknowledged participation in arsons, he has not been charged. On Thursday, U.S. Attorney Karin Immergut said, "We are still considering what charges to bring, and what to do with him."

Material from The Associated Press is included in this report.

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