Michigan State arsonist sentenced to 9 years

AP via SFGate ^ | 10/20/8 | JAMES PRICHARD, Associated Press Writer

[SmithL]

Kalamazoo, Mich. (AP) -- A former environmental activist who committed arson at Michigan State University in 1999 and later became a government informant was sentenced Monday to nine years in prison.

Frank Ambrose, 33, told a federal judge he was sorry for what he did and accepted full responsibility. He was freed until he is ordered to report to prison, which could take months.

He also was placed on a lifetime of supervisory release after prison and was ordered to pay $3.7 million in restitution to the university and for other sabotaged sites.

"I wish I could take all I did back. I've changed significantly from all those years where I did the bad things," Ambrose said.

Ambrose had pleaded guilty to conspiring to set a fire and explosion that caused more than $1 million in damage to the university's Agriculture Hall on New Year's Eve 1999. It was a protest against genetically modified crops in the name of the radical Earth Liberation Front, of which Ambrose was a member at the time.

The conspiracy plea also covered damage to logging equipment the next day in Wexford County. While the charge is conspiracy, Ambrose admitted that he set the fires.

In his plea agreement, Ambrose took responsibility for 11 other acts from 1999 to 2003, including tree spikings in Indiana and the arson of four homes under construction in Macomb and Washtenaw counties.

Ambrose became an FBI informant in 2007, a few months after making a critical mistake: He dumped personal records, writings, a gas mask, an M-80 explosive and other possessions in a Detroit-area trash bin. A man foraging for scrap cardboard called police and the FBI raided Ambrose's home.

[SIDENET]

Ambrose turned on a co-defendant, ex-wife Marie Mason

LOL.

[SunkenCiv]

...was sentenced Monday to nine years in prison... He was freed until he is ordered to report to prison, which could take months. He also was placed on a lifetime of supervisory release after prison and was ordered to pay $3.7 million in restitution to the university and for other sabotaged sites... Ambrose had pleaded guilty to conspiring to set a fire and explosion that caused more than $1 million in damage to the university's Agriculture Hall on New Year's Eve 1999. It was a protest against genetically modified crops in the name of the radical Earth Liberation Front, of which Ambrose was a member at the time. The conspiracy plea also covered damage to logging equipment the next day in Wexford County. While the charge is conspiracy, Ambrose admitted that he set the fires. In his plea agreement, Ambrose took responsibility for 11 other acts from 1999 to 2003, including tree spikings in Indiana and the arson of four homes under construction in Macomb and Washtenaw counties.

He only turned in one other ecoterrorist, and it was his own wife.

[Fred Nerks]

"...While the media quickly labeled these as "terrorist" acts, it is important to remember that the two arsons in question caused no harm to human life. In fact, of all the actions undertaken by the Earth Liberation Front (ELF)--the group that claimed responsibility for the two arsons--over the past several years, none have resulted in the loss of human life and specific steps have been taken to prevent such a result.

Moreover, those who have been indicted--whether they be found guilty or not--deserve the support of left and progressive movements. While there is debate in our movement over tactics and strategy, none of us can doubt the commitment and dedication of individuals who take such actions in defense of the earth. It is also worth remembering that two of the accused, Frank Ambrose and Marie Mason, have been repeatedly harassed by federal authorities pertaining to a failed arson at an Ice Mountain bottling facility in Michigan. Ambrose was also indicted several years ago over anti-logging activities in Indiana and was portrayed as a "terrorist" for nine months before the government dropped the charges in the case..."

SOURCE.