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Posted: 4:37 PM Aug 20, 2008
Last Updated: 7:41 PM Aug 20, 2008
Reporter: ED WHITE - Associated Press
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DETROIT (AP) -- A man who admits setting a fire that caused more than $1 million in damage at Michigan State University is getting a vacation along the Atlantic Ocean, a month before his sentence for a crime described as domestic terrorism.
A federal judge recently approved Frank Ambrose's request to leave Michigan and spend this week on Tybee Island, Ga.
The Detroit man's parents rented a cottage "for the purpose of assembling the entire family in a relaxed vacation setting" ahead of the Sept. 22 hearing, defense attorney Michael Brady said in a court filing.
Brady declined to comment Wednesday. In March, Ambrose pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit arson and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison.
It took more than eight years for authorities to bring charges against him and three others. The fire occurred on New Year's Eve 1999 at MSU's historic Agriculture Hall.
The indictment says Ambrose poured gas and lit a fuse while an accomplice spray-painted "No GMO" on a wall, a reference to genetically modified organisms.
The next day, 150 miles away in Mesick in northern Michigan, Ambrose and others poured gasoline on logging equipment and set a fire, causing damage worth $18,000, according to the indictment.
Ambrose was affiliated with the Earth Liberation Front, or ELF, a radical band of environmentalists, the government alleges. U.S. Attorney Charles Gross called it "domestic terrorism, plain and simple."
Deep in a 15-page plea agreement with prosecutors, Ambrose admitted roles in 11 other acts of property destruction in Michigan and Indiana. They include arson that destroyed new homes in Washtenaw and Macomb counties in 2003 and incidents in Bloomington, North Vernon and Shoals, Ind.
Ambrose has been free on bond since charges were filed in March, but he's been restricted to Michigan unless he gets the court's approval. He attended a family wedding in Pennsylvania in May and traveled to Illinois in June to install a wood floor at his sister's home.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Hagen Frank was away from his office and unavailable for comment Wednesday. At sentencing, Brady predicts Frank will describe Ambrose's "substantial and rather extraordinary cooperation" with investigators since his arrest.
Three other defendants face trial Sept. 30 in federal court in Kalamazoo.
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Expert: Big 3 Failure Would Be Disaster
- Posted By: craig: If anyone in power was really concerned with helping people of lesser means we would be talking about bring jobs back to the USA where we can prosper and be proud of hard work again. how about a bailout for the countless unemployed AMERICANS, or parents on the brink of disaster that will last a lifetime.
- Posted By: craig: government should help automakers at this point, however to say they (auto makers) are not responsible for the recession is absurd. how many more jobs can they push overseas before there will be no one left to purchase their products anyhow?
- Posted By: Buzz: Why should the Big 3 be bailed out? GM wants to sell off our discontinue the Saturn, which is affordable but has made no mention of discontinuing the Corvette and other less affordable models. If GM wants help have them pick one particular model in each of its lines, i.e. the Lacrosse for Buick, Impala for Chevrolet and the Aura for Saturn. GM is about as impervious as the out-going President is - they just don't get it! I read and sympathize with the line workers who say they can't even afford to buy a new car from the company that they work for - that's pretty sad and certainly doesn't promote company solidarity. Like I've said before, make the Big 3 sell what's sitting at all the dealerships even if they have to take a loss before making another automobile. Why keep making what nobody wants at prices nobody wants to pay?
- Posted By: Beth: The Big 3 failure would be a major disaster - I agree. However, I don't feel that the government or tax payers should bail them out until they have made the same kinds of concessions that citizens, small business, and union members have already made. Begin by severely downsizing the execs and their benefits i.e. luxuries. Times are tough and they should share in the "recession life style" is part of the reason for decreased car sales. I need a newer car badly, but it's not on my shopping list any time soon. They are flying and driving nice cars. Get real! The union members have suffered considerable cuts already including loss of workers, benefits and wages. Make equal cuts in management, wages, and benefits, then look at union members' additional concessions, and financial aide from the government.
- Posted By: jon: like i said we the workers will and are getting hurt.they gain we lose
- Posted By: ME: Thank you UAW, if the union would not have barganed until the big 3 couldn't afford it any more we would all be able to afford nice cars. I was in the union before and it definently isnt all peaches and cream. Sure they will fight to get you more but look what it has done.. Workers recieved more then the company could afford and now more may lose everything. Thanks again UAW. It is flat out B.S. that the government will bail out huge corporations but only give the autos a loan. Its all for the politicians gain, main street
America has been hurting alot longer then wall street, but wall street affected the politicians pocket so they did something about it. Mr & Mrs politician help us out, cut your pay & benefits.......quit cutting ours.
- Posted By: LegallyRad: To Explain: If the banks were not bailed out, that would have affected the big 3, and every other business that deals with the banks (show me one that doesn't). This has nothing to do with Bush. Big 3 are very poorly run, and concede too much to organized labor. The bail out will first be essentially worthless since it will amount to a drop in a bucket, and the companies just blow cash. They need to fail to preserve our American capitalistic economy. Chances are only one or two of them will go out of business, but if they properly restructure then they could be saved... restructuring means cutting labor costs and consolidating products. If you want to blame something, it's mostly due to the mortgage crisis which began with Carter and Clinton who refused to allow banks to ensure that people could actually pay for their loans because they felt it might be discrimination. Look where that policy got us. Bush just happens to be in office when their poorly built floor calapsed.
- Posted By: Michele: I cannot believe that they are not going to bail out the Big 3.Ford is not even sure it is going to need the money. And why do the banks get bailouts with no questions asked but they make the Big 3 jump through hoops of fire and all they want to do is borrow the money...... Reid is an idiot, and doesn't have a clue of how manufacturing works and what the ramifications down the road will be. Including restraurant, stores, and other service industries closing and going out of business due to lack of business. Let's keep America working!
- Posted By: : George Bush did not run our country in the ditch. He crash it stright into the wall at 100/mph.
- Posted By: pat: this is one more reason we need to thank George Bush for running our country into the ditch!
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