Battling ELF Teen Convicted in Eco-Terror Attack

Battling ELF

Teen Convicted in Eco-Terror Attack

Battling ELF

Teen Convicted in Eco-Terror Attack

By Oliver Yates Libaw

Feb. 12 — Prosecutors have recorded their first conviction in a case linked to the Earth Liberation Front, an eco-terror group that claims credit for more than 100 acts of destruction in the last five years and $37 million worth of damage.

Prosecutors on New York's Long Island confirmed that a 17-year-old Suffolk County high school student pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a series of arson fires.

Under the deal, the teen, who is the son of a New York City police sergeant, agreed to cooperate with authorities investigating ELF, the eco-terror group.

Three other suspects in the property attacks were in negotiations for plea bargains, sources told ABCNEWS affilliate WABC.

The 17-year-old's plea came during a secret court hearing Friday.

The court records from the case have been sealed, however, and local police, prosecutors, and the FBI said they could not comment on the case.

As part of the agreement, the youth agreed to be charged as an adult, and could face up to 20 years in prison, the Long Island newspaper Newsday reported Sunday, citing a source familiar with the case.

Newsday reported, however, that the agreement avoided possible charges for additional crimes, such as bomb-making, and could lead to a sentence without jail time.

Apparent ELF Attacks on Long Island

ELF is believed responsible for at least nine incidents on Long Island, including the burning of three luxury homes under construction around the beginning of the year. A small explosive device was also set off during the attack.

"This hopefully provided a firm message that we will not tolerate the destruction of our island," the Earth Liberation Front said a statement faxed to The Associated Press after the incident.

The homes were being built on one of the last remaining farms on the island.

Police believe the ELF also burned six other unoccupied Long Island homes, causing millions of dollars in damage.

… And Around the Country

ELF claimed responsibility for 16 fires in 1999 at luxury home construction sites in Colorado, Arizona and New York. Law enforcement officials also link them to the destruction of two grass seed research centers in Oregon by a group called the Anarchist Golf Association.

The group is also blamed for a fire at a Forest Service tree biogenetic research site in Wisconsin. In all, they claimed responsibility for $2.2 million worth of damage in 2000.

The group claims to be non-violent and opposed to harming living creatures, including their political foes.

The group's Web site acknowledges that police were investigating a Long Island teen in connection with acts of damage "allegedly committed by the Earth Liberation Front" but did not comment further. A call to the group's spokesman, Craig Rosebraugh, was not returned..

First ELF-Related Arrest in January

In January, law enforcement officials arrested Frank Ambrose, of Indiana, in connection with a tree spiking incident for which the ELF claimed credit.

It was the first such arrest in a case related to ELF in their five-year effort to stop the elusive activists.

The ELF is a loose-knit network of environmental extremists who operate independently of each other.

FBI officials have acknowledged that the group's lack of a hierarchical structure has made it difficult to infiltrate or stop.