$100K reward offered for animal rights extremists

From wire service reports Posted: 04/30/2009 06:47:16 AM PDT
Daily Breeze

The Los Angeles City Council offered $100,000 in rewards today in hopes of tracking down the vandals and arsonists -- believed to be members of animal rights extremist groups -- who have targeted UCLA medical researchers.

The rewards were approved a week after two reputed associates of the Animal Liberation Front were charged with conspiracy and stalking in connection with crimes against UCLA researchers who use animals in their work.

Linda Faith Greene, 61, and Kevin Rich Oliff, 22, have pleaded not guilty to 10 felony charges.

A grand jury indictment alleges that an unidentified co-conspirator placed an incendiary device on the front porch of a home two doors away from UCLA professor Lynn Fairbanks' Los Angeles residence in June 2006. The device, which was left at the wrong house, failed to ignite.

The council signed off on a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever left that incendiary device. A total of $110,000 in reward money is available in that case, with the FBI, UCLA and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also contributing funds.

A total of $110,000 is available in connection with the firebombing of Arthur Rosenbaum's car near his home in June 2007.

A total of $115,000 in available for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of whoever lobbed an incendiary device at the front door of Edythe London's home in February 2008. The year before that crime,

London's home was broken into and the first floor deliberately flooded, causing $60,000 in damage, according to the FBI.

A total of $65,000 is available in hopes of tracking down whoever set fire to Goran Lacan's car, via an improvised incendiary device, in November of last year, whiel a $75,000 reward has been posted in hopes of finding out who targeted David Jentsch, whose car was set on fire last month.

Members of an animal rights extremist group are believed to be responsible for all of the crimes, according to the FBI.

"These incidents have been brazen attacks targeting individuals in their homes, which have compromised the safety of the entire community," City Councilman Jack Weiss wrote in his motion for approval of the rewards.