UTIMCO oks 51 m bonuses
EXCERPT:
UTIMCO board passes $5.1M bonuses
Austin Business Journal - by Staff Reports
Date: Tuesday, November 9, 2010, 2:25pm CST Related:
Banking & Financial Services, Education
The University of Texas Investment Management Co. (UTIMCO) has reportedly passed about $5.1 million in bonuses, including the maximum allowed for CEO Bruce Zimmerman.
The University of Texas’ endowment fund board approved bonuses during their regular meeting Tuesday morning. Zimmerman, who also acts as the fund's chief investment officer, was awarded $1.15 million bonus, while the rest was divided among about 30 other employees.
Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst Inc.
EXCERPT:
Firms that paid fees to firms affiliated with Mr. Morris included some of Wall Street’s best-known names, including the Carlyle Group and HM Capital, formerly known as Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst. Both have already reached settlements with Mr. Cuomo’s office.
Mr. Morris also rewarded top officials in the comptroller’s office, including David Loglisci, the former chief investment officer. Mr. Morris invested $100,000 in an independent film, “Chooch,” produced by Mr. Loglisci’s brother; a company controlled by Mr. Rattner’s firm, the Quadrangle Group, distributed “Chooch.”
“You couldn’t make this up,” Mr. Cuomo said at the time of Mr. Morris’s indictment in March 2009.
Your democratic scandal scorecard
EXCERPT:
SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D., CALIF.): Introduced legislation to steer $25 billion to the FDIC, days after before CB Richard Ellis Group, a commercial real-estate firm headed by her husband, Richard Blum, won the competitive bidding for a contract to sell foreclosed properties that the FDIC had inherited from failed banks. As the Washington Times noted, Feinstein is not a member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, which has jurisdiction over the FDIC; and the agency is supposed to operate from money it raises from bank-paid insurance payments — not direct federal dollars. (UPDATE: The legislation was introduced before the contract was awarded to CB Richard Ellis Group. See Feinstein office response below.)
URS and 9/11
World Trade Center gets manager: URS / S.F engineering firm to oversee construction November 05, 2005|By David R. Baker, Chronicle Staff Writer
San Francisco engineering company URS Corp. will oversee perhaps the most visible and politically sensitive construction job in the United States -- building the new World Trade Center.
A joint venture between URS and Parsons Brinckerhoff will serve as construction manager on the project, which will include five towers, a transportation hub and a memorial to those who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the original center. The New York Times reported the company's involvement Friday.
URS and Parsons Brinckerhoff scandal
EXCERPT:
Taken for a Ride:
Parsons Brinckerhoff Expose
By Tara Servatius
The last time two of the consultants overseeing Mecklenburg County's light rail and mass transit plan worked on a large-scale project together, they were responsible for an 80-foot sinkhole, thousands of lawsuits totaling over $1 billion, and a trail of fraud and corruption so long that even the FBI couldn't untangle it. Now they're advising Charlotte Area Transit Officials on our transit plan and helping to design it.
The two design, construction and engineering firms, Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas, Parsons Transportation Corp., and their smaller business units are directly responsible for projects widely regarded as the biggest transit debacles in the nation's history. Both have stark histories of deceiving the public and government officials about the true costs of transit projects, and then benefiting directly from project cost overruns.
These histories are alarming enough to call into question every figure, fact and cost estimate ever given to the voters and elected officials of Charlotte-Mecklenburg by these companies. And it's enough to make one wonder why the Metropolitan Transit Commission and Charlotte City Council approved consultant contracts with them in the first place.
Members of the MTC we spoke to say they were unaware of the companies' past scandals, but are determined to get answers from Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) CEO Ron Tober. CATS spokespersons said no one there was aware of the companies' past scandals when the contracts were proposed. It's still unclear who did background checks on the companies. (See "What They're Saying" sidebar.)
Dianne Feinstein and URS
EXCERPT:
January 24-30, 2007
Senator Feinstein's Iraq Conflict
As a member of the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee, Sen. Feinstein voted for appropriations worth billions to her husband's firms
By Peter Byrne
IN THE November 2006 election, the voters demanded congressional ethics reform. And so, the newly appointed chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is now duly in charge of regulating the ethical behavior of her colleagues. But for many years, Feinstein has been beset by her own ethical conflict of interest, say congressional ethics experts.
As chairperson and ranking member of the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee (MILCON) from 2001 through the end of 2005, Feinstein supervised the appropriation of billions of dollars a year for specific military construction projects. Two defense contractors whose interests were largely controlled by her husband, financier Richard C. Blum, benefited from decisions made by Feinstein as leader of this powerful subcommittee.
Each year, MILCON's members decide which military construction projects will be funded from a roster proposed by the Department of Defense. Contracts to build these specific projects are subsequently awarded to such major defense contractors as Halliburton, Fluor, Parsons, Louis Berger, URS Corporation and Perini Corporation. From 1997 through the end of 2005, with Feinstein's knowledge, Blum was a majority owner of both URS Corp. and Perini Corp.
While setting MILCON agendas for many years, Feinstein, 73, supervised her own staff of military construction experts as they carefully examined the details of each proposal. She lobbied Pentagon officials in public hearings to support defense projects that she favored, some of which already were or subsequently became URS or Perini contracts. From 2001 to 2005, URS earned $792 million from military construction and environmental cleanup projects approved by MILCON; Perini earned $759 million from such MILCON projects.
Dianne Feinstein resigns MILCON following Metro expose, vet-care scandal
By Peter Byrne
SEN. Dianne Feinstein has resigned from the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee. As previously and extensively reviewed in these pages, Feinstein was chairperson and ranking member of MILCON for six years, during which time she had a conflict of interest due to her husband Richard C. Blum's ownership of two major defense contractors, who were awarded billions of dollars for military construction projects approved by Feinstein.
As MILCON leader, Feinstein relished the details of military construction, even micromanaging one project at the level of its sewer design. She regularly took junkets to military bases around the world to inspect construction projects, some of which were contracted to her husband's companies, Perini Corp. and URS Corp.
Perhaps she resigned from MILCON because she could not take the heat generated by Metro's expose of her ethics (which was partially funded by the Investigative Fund of the Nation Institute). Or was her work on the subcommittee finished because Blum divested ownership of his military construction and advanced weapons manufacturing firms in late 2005?
The MILCON subcommittee is not only in charge of supervising military construction, it also oversees "quality of life" issues for veterans, which includes building housing for military families and operating hospitals and clinics for wounded soldiers. Perhaps Feinstein is trying to disassociate herself from MILCON's incredible failure to provide decent medical care for wounded soldiers.
Two years ago, before the Washington Post became belatedly involved, the online magazine Salon.com exposed the horrors of deficient medical care for Iraq war veterans. While leading MILCON, Feinstein had ample warning of the medical-care meltdown. But she was not proactive on veteran's affairs.
Feinstein abandoned MILCON as her ethical problems were surfacing in the media, and as it was becoming clear that her subcommittee left grievously wounded veterans to rot while her family was profiting from the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. It turns out that Blum also holds large investments in companies that were selling medical equipment and supplies and real estate leases—often without the benefit of competitive bidding—to the Department of Veterans Affairs, even as the system of medical care for veterans collapsed on his wife's watch.
As of December 2006, according to SEC filings and www.fedspending.org, three corporations in which Blum's financial entities own a total of $1 billion in stock won considerable favor from the budgets of the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs:
•Boston Scientific Corporation: $17.8 million for medical equipment and supplies; 85 percent of contracts awarded without benefit of competition.
•Kinetic Concepts Inc.: $12 million, medical equipment and supplies; 28 percent noncompetitively awarded.
•CB Richard Ellis: The Blum-controlled international real estate firm holds congressionally funded contracts to lease office space to the Department of Veterans Affairs. It also is involved in redeveloping military bases turned over to the private sector.
You would think that, considering all the money Feinstein's family has pocketed by waging global warfare while ignoring the plight of wounded American soldiers, she would show a smidgeon of shame and resign from the entire Senate, not just a subcommittee. Conversely, you'd think she might stick around MILCON to try and fix the medical-care disaster she helped to engineer for the vets who were suckered into fighting her and Bush's panoply of unjust wars.
Feinstein and Blum's finances increased considerably
The Byrne Report
Hawk Tale
By Peter Byrne
ON JAN. 18, California senator Dianne Feinstein introduced Dr. Condoleezza Rice at a Senate nomination hearing for Secretary of State in terms so saccharine that molasses seemed to ooze out of her mouth. She was a precocious child, Feinstein purred. She has skill, judgment and poise. She loves football. Bush loves her. "The problems we face abroad are complex and sizable. If Dr. Rice's past performance is any indication, though, we can rest easy."
That very same day, Feinstein's husband, Richard Blum, took advantage of a spike in the price of his URS Corporation stock. He sold a third of his holdings in the defense contractor for $57 million, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. With Rice confirmed, the business of death and occupation looks rosy as hell for Feinstein, who--let's get real--benefits tremendously from sharing community property with Blum.
URS' largest customer is the U.S. Army, which accounted for 17 percent ($587 million) of its cash revenue in 2004. In 2001, URS enjoyed a mere $169 million in defense contracts. Now, its war contracts total more than $2 billion. According to its annual report, the San FranciscoÐbased URS anticipates that profits will rocket up in 2005, because "operations in the Middle East are expected to generate increased work related to the development of weapons systems, the training of military pilots and the maintenance, upgrade and repair of military vehicles." Provided, of course, that our hawkish leadership remains as poised and lovable as the new Secretary of State.
Feinstein, who sits on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, is an advocate of first-strike warfare, even though it flouts international law and the standards of common decency. Interestingly, her Financial Disclosure Report for 2003 was more than three times the size of her 2002 disclosure (Feinstein's 2003 disclosure numbers 133 pages, compared to Sen. Barbara Boxer's six-page report). The Feinstein-Blum portfolio is crammed with multimillion dollar investments in the military-industrial-financial complex and corporations that heavily exploit Third World peoples. The senator has a lot to lose should the neoconservative war machine falter.
Hubby holds a controlling interest in another engineering firm, Perini Corporation of Framingham, Mass. Perini ranks No. 6 by dollar amount in war-related government contracts in the Middle East. According to its annual report, "Perini proudly supports the U.S. government with global rapid response capabilities for defense, reconstruction and security." Perini builds military facilities and roads in Afghanistan, electrical infrastructure in Iraq and U.S. embassies around the world.
After the Senate, Feinstein included, approved Bush's war plans in 2002, Perini's defense contract awards soared from negligible to $2.52 billion. But, as with many of the sole-source, open-ended contracts awarded to politically connected firms, there are problems with accountability. Last summer, Department of Defense auditors determined that Perini could not adequately justify its costs in Iraq as fair and reasonable. That's government-speak for: They're gouging the #!$% out of us.
Perini is heavily engaged in military and municipal public works projects inside the United States; at least two are also under investigation for contract fraud. For example, the city of San Francisco has sued general contractor Perini--which was in a joint venture with the Tutor-Saliba construction firm--for $100 million in cost overruns at a San Francisco International Airport project. The lawsuit alleges that the joint venture engaged in "a sophisticated pattern of fraud," including inflating costs, fabricating delays and setting up minority front companies to exploit affirmative-action preferences. The attorney general of Massachusetts is looking into alleged false claims made by a Perini joint venture in the "Big Dig" urban highway construction boondoggle in Boston.
Ron Tutor, owner of Tutor-Saliba and CEO of Perini, bought into the latter company, along with Blum, as it teetered on the edge of solvency in the mid- 1990s due to a bad real estate investment. It rebounded, thanks to the firm's sudden ability to obtain lucrative U.S. military and government contracts, which, of course, had nothing to do with the fact that Blum's powerful wife has her hands on the military's purse strings. Remarkably, Perini grossed $1.37 billion in 2003, up 27 percent from the previous year, before the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq.
Perini attributes its rocketing profits to "increased volume of work in Iraq and Afghanistan." As a risk factor, the firm notes that continued demand for its military services depends upon "the political situation in Iraq," which, logically, means that it desires the bloody war and useless occupation to continue indefinitely--a wish that hawktails with the foreign policy positions of Bush, Rice, Rumsfeld and Feinstein.
I almost forgot: Perini Corp. is the nation's most active builder of Indian-fronted casinos. That explains a few things about Sen. Feinstein and the politics of gambling, soon to be revealed in greater detail in this space.
Black people used as fronts in Tutor Saliba deals
EXCERPT:
S.F. airport contractor Tutor-Saliba accused of creating minority fronts
Patrick Hoge / Chronicle 21nov 00
San Francisco -- The largest builder at San Francisco's $2.9 billion airport expansion used two African American contractors as figureheads in bogus minority-owned companies to win contracts, the contractors told officials who oversee the city's affirmative action program.
Once the giant Tutor-Saliba Corp. won contracts that included work the city wanted to go to nonwhite builders, the company colluded with white subcontractors to sideline the two minority contractors, the men said. One of the men said a Tutor-Saliba official arranged for his company to get a $100, 000 payoff for dropping out of contracts worth nearly $11 million.
more
EXCERPT:
Through the use of slurry walls, where liquid is poured into a hole to harden, engineers have managed to support the elevated highway while cutting away its support beams to remove the dirt underneath. The designers and engineers of the joint venture--called B/PB--are San Francisco's Bechtel Corp. and New York City's Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas Inc.
Richard Blum siphons off public money
EXCERPT:
The most prominent among this cadre has been Richard Blum. As we detailed in our last CounterPunch article, Blum's five-decade career as a finance capitalist has been distinguished by the levels of skill and panache he has applied to the time-honored task of siphoning off public money into one's own corporate coffers, as well as those of one's financial and political allies. Blum, who is married to US Senator Dianne Feinstein, is one of the leading power-brokers in the Democratic Party within both California and the United States.
Notably, it was Blum who virtually hand-picked President Yudof for UC President, having chaired the selection committee that oversaw Yudof's appointment. At a March 2008 press conference heralding the Yudof hiring, the San Francisco Chronicle noted that Blum seemed “visibly ecstatic.” In April, the Chronicle quoted Blum again, saying of Yudof, "we disagree on almost nothing. If I were giving Mark a grade, I would give him an A-plus.”
Bush and UTIMCO
EXCERPT:
A Tale from Texas - with Lessons for California
The University of California Board of Regents has appointed David H. Russ as its new treasurer and vice president for investments, replacing Patricia A. Small, who resigned (was pushed out) from that position last August. Russ was previously a managing director for the University of Texas Investment Management Company (UTIMCO).
Out of curiosity I asked google to search this organizational name and found the following fascinating story about UTIMCO. ( http://www.tpj.org/pioneers/r_hicks.html ) This piece was written by Texans for Public Justice, a "non-partisan, non-profit policy and research organization which tracks the influence of money in politics." This is one of a series of sketches about the Bush Pioneers, individuals who raised large amounts of money for the 2000 Presidential campaign of the former Texas Governor.
R. Steven Hicks and his brother Tom both founded major radio companies that merged in '99 into AMFM, Inc. After Clear Channel Communications devoured AMFM later that year, Tom Hicks became its vice chair. Tom Hicks made Bush a millionaire 15 times over when he bought the Texas Rangers in '99. Just as local taxpayers enhanced the value of Bush's Rangers by paying $135 million for their stadium, Hicks and Ross Perot, Jr. got Dallas taxpayers to spend $125 million on a stadium for their Dallas Stars and Mavericks in '98. Tom Hicks heads the corporate raider firm Hicks Muse Tate & Furst (Bush's No. 4 career patron). Hicks Muse long wanted to tap the $13-billion University of Texas (UT) endowment for its takeover deals. As Bush assumed office in '95, Hicks was confirmed as a University of Texas Regent and hired lobbyists to push a bill creating the UT Investment Management Co. (UTIMCO). With Hicks as its first chair, UTIMCO began doling out contracts to private investment firms to manage portions of the endowment. A scandal blew up when the media discovered that UTIMCO awarded many of these lucrative contracts to firms tied to Hicks and Bush - including one that former President Bush reportedly owns a piece of. The UTIMCO board doling out these contracts included Clear Channel Chair L. Lowry Mays and the Pioneers Tom Loeffler, A.W. Riter, and A. R. Sanchez. Ed Bass and Pioneer Charles Wyly owned two firms that landed some of these contracts.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
911 Keymaster
William Rodriguez youtube
The Ballad of William Rodriguez - Lyrics & Comments by Vic Sadot
17 Jan 2008, 03:47
The Ballad of William Rodriguez - Lyrics & Comments by Vic Sadot
William Rodriguez is sometimes known at "the last man out" of the World Trade Center on 9/11/01 because he kept going back in to rescue people where he had worked for 20 years. His selfless act won him a lot of praise, media attention, and an invitation to a White House dinner where he was photographed with President George W. Bush.. Things went rather sour after he testified to the 9/11 Commission about the explosions in the WTC. In fact, his entire testimony was omitted along with that of numerous others that did not fit into the "official conspiracy story", such as the testimonies of Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta and FBI translator and whistle-blower Sibel Edmonds. You can read about the RICO lawsuit filed by Mr. Rodriguez at www.911forthetruth.com
Official Website of William Rodriguez, one of the Rescue Heroes at the World Trade Center on 9/11/01: The Ballad of William Rodriguez by Vic Sadot
Hear it by clicking on the button at the bottom of the opening page: http://www.william911.com/
The song was recorded by Zone Parker, who also contributed to the wonderful Delta Slide Guitar rifs
that contrast nicely with Vic Sadot's Cajun 10 button
Point Noir accordion.
The song is in regular rotation at Pacifica’s new internet radio station called No Lies Radio based in San Francisco, California: http://www.noliesradio.org
The Ballad of William Rodriguez
It was a beautiful September morning!
Now everyone remembers that date!
World Trade Center worker, William Rodriguez
Was lucky to be coming in late …
He’d been clockin’ in to his janitor job
For twenty long years, don’t you know…
He’d even survived the ’93 basement bombing…
That injured a thousand or so…
As he walked into the Maintenance Office
Right down there on sub-level one
His buddy Felipe stormed in the room screamin’
In panic and pain he did run
When a fiery blast from the elevator shaft
Burned the skin off his face and his arms
Felipe was screamin’ “Explosion! Explosion!”
Then came the sound of alarms!
The building was shaking and groaning
From below them they heard a great roar
Then above came the crash of a jet plane exploding
While below was still “rattling the floor”
So Willie led Felipe out before the tower fell…
Went back down and rescued some more…
Then he went in again and he ran up the stairwell…
Heard a series of blasts in the core…
Saving lives made him a “Ground Zero” hero
He was praised for his bravery
NBC sent a film crew to his home for an interview
But they didn’t put his story on TV
He testified to the 9-11 Commission
On the truth he would not compromise…
Then his story, like others, went the way of omission
Cause it contradicted the lies
It was a terrible nine-eleven morning!
Now everyone remembers that date!
World Trade Center worker, William Rodriguez
Was lucky to be coming in late …
If he’d come in on time, he’d ‘a been on the top floors
He’d not have known of explosions below!
He was lucky to survive those demolition bombings…
That murdered three thousand or so…
© 2005 Victor Rene Sadot/Orbian Love Music/BMI
William Rodriguez youtube
The Ballad of William Rodriguez - Lyrics & Comments by Vic Sadot
17 Jan 2008, 03:47
The Ballad of William Rodriguez - Lyrics & Comments by Vic Sadot
William Rodriguez is sometimes known at "the last man out" of the World Trade Center on 9/11/01 because he kept going back in to rescue people where he had worked for 20 years. His selfless act won him a lot of praise, media attention, and an invitation to a White House dinner where he was photographed with President George W. Bush.. Things went rather sour after he testified to the 9/11 Commission about the explosions in the WTC. In fact, his entire testimony was omitted along with that of numerous others that did not fit into the "official conspiracy story", such as the testimonies of Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta and FBI translator and whistle-blower Sibel Edmonds. You can read about the RICO lawsuit filed by Mr. Rodriguez at www.911forthetruth.com
Official Website of William Rodriguez, one of the Rescue Heroes at the World Trade Center on 9/11/01: The Ballad of William Rodriguez by Vic Sadot
Hear it by clicking on the button at the bottom of the opening page: http://www.william911.com/
The song was recorded by Zone Parker, who also contributed to the wonderful Delta Slide Guitar rifs
that contrast nicely with Vic Sadot's Cajun 10 button
Point Noir accordion.
The song is in regular rotation at Pacifica’s new internet radio station called No Lies Radio based in San Francisco, California: http://www.noliesradio.org
The Ballad of William Rodriguez
It was a beautiful September morning!
Now everyone remembers that date!
World Trade Center worker, William Rodriguez
Was lucky to be coming in late …
He’d been clockin’ in to his janitor job
For twenty long years, don’t you know…
He’d even survived the ’93 basement bombing…
That injured a thousand or so…
As he walked into the Maintenance Office
Right down there on sub-level one
His buddy Felipe stormed in the room screamin’
In panic and pain he did run
When a fiery blast from the elevator shaft
Burned the skin off his face and his arms
Felipe was screamin’ “Explosion! Explosion!”
Then came the sound of alarms!
The building was shaking and groaning
From below them they heard a great roar
Then above came the crash of a jet plane exploding
While below was still “rattling the floor”
So Willie led Felipe out before the tower fell…
Went back down and rescued some more…
Then he went in again and he ran up the stairwell…
Heard a series of blasts in the core…
Saving lives made him a “Ground Zero” hero
He was praised for his bravery
NBC sent a film crew to his home for an interview
But they didn’t put his story on TV
He testified to the 9-11 Commission
On the truth he would not compromise…
Then his story, like others, went the way of omission
Cause it contradicted the lies
It was a terrible nine-eleven morning!
Now everyone remembers that date!
World Trade Center worker, William Rodriguez
Was lucky to be coming in late …
If he’d come in on time, he’d ‘a been on the top floors
He’d not have known of explosions below!
He was lucky to survive those demolition bombings…
That murdered three thousand or so…
© 2005 Victor Rene Sadot/Orbian Love Music/BMI
Thursday, October 28, 2010
United States Fire Administration
Technical Report Series
The Grems Case:
How an Arson Case Was
Solved and Prosecuted
in Colorado
Federal Emergency Management Agency
United States Fire Administration
National Fire Data Center
United States Fire Administration Fire Investigations Program
The United States Fire Administration develops reports on selected major tires throughout the
country. The fires usually involve multiple deaths or a large loss of property. But the primary criterion for
deciding to do a report is whether it will result in significant “lessons learned.” In some cases these lessons
bring to light new knowledge about fire - the effect of building construction or contents, human behavior in
fire, etc. In other cases, the lessons are not new but are serious enough to highlight once again, with yet
another fire tragedy report.
The reports are sent to fire magazines and are distributed at national and regional fire meetings.
The International Association of Fire Chiefs assists USFA in disseminating the findings throughout the fire
service. On a continuing basis the reports are available on request from USFA; announcements of their
availability are published widely in fire journals and newsletters
This body of work provides detailed information on the nature of the fire problem for policy makers
who must decide on allocations of resources between fire and other pressing problems, and within the fire
service to improve codes and code enforcement, training, public fire education, building technology, and
other related areas.
The Fire Administration, which has no regulatory authority, sends an experienced fire investigator
into a community after a major incident only after having conferred with the local fire authorities to insure
that USFA’s assistance and presence would be supportive and would in no way interfere with any review of
the incident they are themselves conducting. The intent is not to arrive during the event or even immediately
after, but rather after the dust settles, so that a complete and objective review of all the important aspects of
the incident can be made. Local authorities review USFA’s report while it is in draft. The USFA
investigator or team is available to local authorities should they wish to request technical assistance for their
own investigation.
This report and its recommendations were developed by USFA staff and by TriData Corporation,
Arlington, Virginia, its staff and consultants, who are under contract to assist the Fire Administration in
carrying out the Fire Reports Program.
The United States Fire Administration wishes to acknowledge the support and cooperation of the
Aurora, Colorado Fire Department who alerted us to this interesting and informative case. In particular we
wish to acknowledge the cooperation of Aurora Fire Chief John Speed and Lieutenant Marty LaRusso,
Supervisor of Aurora’s Fire Investigation Bureau.
For additional copies of this report write to the United States Fire Administration, National Fire
Data Center, 16825 South Seton Avenue, Emmitsburg, Maryland 21727.
The Grems Case:
How an Arson Case Was
Solved and Prosecuted
in Colorado
Report by: Hollis Stambaugh
This is Report 047 of the Major Fires Investigation Project conducted
by TriData Corporation under contract EMW-90-C-3338 to the United
States Fire Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Federal Emergency Management Agency
United States Fire Administration
National Fire Data Center
The Grems Case:
How an Arson Case Was
Solved and Prosecuted
in Colorado
Reported by: Hollis Stambaugb
Primary Local Contacts: Fire Chief John Speed and
Lieutenant Marty LaRusso
Aurora Fire Department
Aurora, Colorado
(303) 695-7110
With assistance from
case documentation
prepared by:
Deputy Sheriff Joseph Dempsey
Deputy Sheriff Scott Linne
Arapahoe County Sheriffs Department
Investigator William Jones
Aurora Fire Department
Detective Katherine Reis
Captain Bruce Goodman
Sergeant Dale Goetz
Boulder County Sheriffs Department
Detective Greg Neal
Westminster Police Department
FORWARD
For many years the United States Fire Administration has been
making available to practitioners, researchers, and students of fire
protection, timely reports on our nation’s most critical fires and hazardous
materials incidents. It is under the Major Fires Investigation Report Series
that important lessons are documented and shared with the fire service so
that we all can learn the best approaches for controlling fire loss and for
enhancing firefighter health and safety.
This report was researched and prepared for inclusion in the Fire
Investigations Report Series because of USFA’s concern over the ominous
trends in our country’s arson experience. Those trends include an increase
in the percentage of residential fire deaths caused by arson, the growing
problem of juveniles and their proportionate over-representation among
arsonists, the use of explosives in set fires, and the ongoing struggle to
coordinate investigation duties between police and fire agencies. Any fire
investigation unit which has recently completed and closed a particularly
noteworthy arson case is encouraged to notify the United States Fire
Administration by contacting the Major Fire Project Officer at
(301) 447-1271. Here the development of the arson case is what is of
interest (more than the magnitude of the fire) including investigation
approaches, interagency coordination, prosecutor support, and the specifics
that led to the final outcome of the case.
CASE CAPSULE
Three juveniles, friends since childhood, stole explosives from a
mine; blew up part of a high school, three vehicles, and a gas station; and
set four elementary school fires while eluding fire and police personnel
from a region in Colorado for two years. Nicknaming themselves “Grems”
after the movie Gremlins, the three often donned camouflage or military
fatigues while carrying out their planned “missions.” Evidence sent to the
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms lab in San Francisco, California and a
taped interview of a juvenile who identified his acquaintances and their
crimes, and the sharing of information among fire investigation agencies
combined to give officials a break in the case, and ultimately led to
unusually stiff sentences for the threesome.
YOUTHFUL MISCHIEF TURNS TO SERIOUS CRIMES
Joel, Chuck, and Gary were above-average in intelligence boys
who spent much of their free time together. As kids, they planned war
games and acted out super hero roles. Later in their teens, they went
camping, sometimes near the site of the John Jay mine above Boulder,
Colorado, that was owned and operated by Gary’s father. Using a
duplicate key he had made from his father’s key, Gary would gain access to
the explosives bunker and, together with his friends, would steal explosives.
At first they experimented by blowing up rocks and ant hills. Soon they
graduated to real property, thus crossing the line from mischief to felony.
In the summer of 1986, the three boys went joyriding and broke
some windows in a Westminster, Colorado elementary school. They left
the scene, drank beer, and drove back to the school where they then threw
1 Names have been changed for the sake of this report.
2 Name suppressed for this report (not “John Jay”).
Page 2
lighted molotov cocktails through the broken windows. Over the course of
the summer, Chuck, Joel, and Gary repeated this pattern of arson
bombings in two other elementary schools; they also returned to the
original school and ignited it a second time. The three boys began calling
their planned fire setting, “missions,” and donned camouflage clothing
before embarking on their sprees They agreed to wear tennis shoes
instead of Army boots, however, to keep down the “clumping” noise that
would be associated with heavy boots.
A year passed. During the summer of 1987, the three boys again
made plans to steal and use explosives. They bombed a high school in
Arapahoe County. A gas station in Boulder County was another target.
Also in Boulder, two of them, Gary and Joel, blew up a Ford Mustang and
a Ford pickup truck A 1966 Mustang parked in a townhouse complex in
Aurora was bombed too.
Following is a synopsis of the investigation of each incident. A map
depicting the location of these incidents and of their proximity to the mine
is presented in the appendix
SYNOPSIS OF INCIDENT INVESTIGATIONS
Incident #1 - Boulder County Vehicle Bombings, May 17, 1987
At 0240 hours on May 17, 1987, the Boulder Regional
Communications Center (dispatch) of the Boulder County Sheriffs
Department received numerous telephone calls from citizens reporting an
explosion in the area of the Habitat Apartment Complex at 6255 Habitat
Drive, Boulder County. Boulder Sheriffs Lieutenant Philip West arrived at
the Habitat Complex at 0250 hours with units from the Boulder Rural
Volunteer Fire Department. Lieutenant West observed a crowd of people
near the southeastern parking lot where two cars had exploded.
The exploded vehicles were subsequently identified as a brown 1979
Ford XLT truck with Colorado license plate 008ILU and a silver 1977
Ford Mustang with Colorado license plate FND911.
Witnesses interviewed by the officers and by fire department
personnel at the Habitat Complex stated they heard two or three
explosions. Some witnesses reported smelling something like burned
gunpowder or burned firecrackers following the explosions, and of seeing
flashes.
Page 3
On May 19, 1987, and on June 1, 1987, Boulder Sheriffs Detective
Phil Raznick and Sergeant Dale Goetz interviewed the owners of the
vehicles. The owners stated that they moved to the apartment on March
16, 1987, and they had no problems with anyone before or since moving.
They knew no motive for their vehicles being bombed.
Sergeant Goetz, who responded to the bombing scene, stated in his
written report that from the direction and pattern of the explosion it
appeared one bomb was placed under the front left comer of the Mustang,
and another bomb was placed on the passenger side of the pickup truck
He found six strands of orange safety fuse -- three to the Mustang, two to
the pickup truck and one adjacent to the vehicles in the grass. Sergeant
Goetz and Detectives Phil Raznick and Rick Ferguson collected evidence
from the cars and the bombing scene for laboratory processing.
On June 2, 1987, Sergeant Goetz shipped the following evidence
from the Habitat bombing to the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms (BATF) laboratory in California requesting analysis including the
identity of the fuse manufacturer and the manufacturer of the blasting cap
and the type of explosive: 1) length of woven fabric sheath; 2) unburned
safety fuse; 3) burned safety fuse; 4) vehicle components; and 5) metal,
paper and foil fragments.
Incident #2 - Boulder County Gas Station Bombing, June 2, 1987
At 0237 hours on June 2, 1987, the Boulder Regional
Communications Center received numerous phone calls reporting
explosions in the area of Arapahoe and 55th Streets, Boulder County.
Investigating Sheriff’s officers found that the A&A Amoco service station,
closed for the night, at 1595 Arapahoe Street was damaged by multiple
explosions. Boulder Sheriff’s officers interviewed witnesses who stated they
heard from two to ten explosions, saw flashes and smoke, and smelled
smoke.
The A&4 Amoco owner told the detective the only possible motive
he could offer was a recently terminated employee. Another Amoco
employee, who had worked at the station until 0015 hours on June 2,
reported to Detective Rasnick that he knew of no motive and that there
were no problems at the station that night.
Sheriffs Sergeant Dale Goetz came to the bombing scene and
directed the collection of evidence at the station. He details in his written
reports that one explosion occurred at the base of the diesel pump, one
explosion at a premium gasoline pump, one explosion at the base of the
Page 4
pump west of the premium gasoline pump, one explosion at the base of an
unleaded gasoline pump, two detonations on one propane tank, one
explosion near the second propane tank, and one explosion next to the
small building adjacent to the main station. Expended orange safety fuse
was found all around the scene. Sergeant Goetz found one unexploded
cartridge of Dupont Tovex explosive next to the small building. He
reported that the blasting cap fell out of the cartridge and failed to cause
the Tovex to explode.
The small building, the gasoline pumps, and the one propane tank
were damaged to the extent that they required removal or replacement.
The unexploded Tovex cartridge displayed a date ship code of
85AP2OX which was relayed to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms agent Roland Gilbert on June 2, 1987, to initiate a records search
to determine who purchased Tovex with that code number. Agent Gilbert
reported to Sergeant Goetz that 99 cases of DuPont Tovex with that date
ship code were sold by DuPont Chemical Company to the Buckley Powder
Company of Grants, New Mexico. The Buckley Powder Company sold
thirty of the 99 cases to Fatima Minerals, Inc. (owner of the John Jay
Mine) of Jamestown, Colorado on June 26, 1985.
Three days later Sergeant Goetz shipped the following evidence
from the Amoco station bombing to the BATF laboratory in California,
requesting analysis including the identity of the fuse manufacturer, the
manufacturer of the blasting cap, and a comparison of these materials with
the evidence from the Habitat Apartment Complex bombing: 1) burned
safety fuse; 2) debris from gas pumps; 3) piece of a blasting cap; and 4)
debris from the propane tanks.
On June 9, 1987, authorities from Boulder County met with the
manager of the John Jay Mine, Tim Hurtle.3 Mr. Hurtle showed them
the powder magazine in which the Tovex was stored. They observed
Tovex with the date ship code of 85AP2OX in 19 sealed cases, one
unsealed case containing 50 tubes, and 23 tubes in a bucket. Fuse type
blasting caps were at the mine, and Mr. Hurtle said those were no longer
used. He showed them the log in which explosives’ use was documented.
Detective Matthews found the log to be very inaccurate and to be a record
from which it was impossible to compute inventory. He said that as many
as 49 sticks of Tovex were unaccounted for.
3 Name has been changed for the sake of this report.
Page 5
Mr. Hurtle told authorities that since August 1985, no Tovex had
been used in the mine. He said locks to the powder magazine were
changed two years prior and that only he and his partner had keys. He
stated that no keys were kept at the mine.
On September 17, 1987, approximately three months after evidence
from the vehicle bombings and the gas station bombings were sent to
BATF, reports of the chemical tests showed the presence of “major
constituents of DuPont Tovex watergel explosives.” The lab further
identified the fuse as “similar in construction to Apache (Coast Fuse)
Orange Sequoia fuse.” Two weeks later in a written report, BATF
concluded that “the materials involved in this investigation are properly
identified as explosive bombs.”
Incident #3 - Aurora Car Bombing, August 8, 1987
On August 8, 1987 at approximately 0114 hours, the Aurora Fire
Department responded to 3765 South Danube Circle in the City of Aurora,
(County of Arapahoe) Colorado, regarding an explosion of a 1966 Ford
Mustang. Investigator William Jones of the Aurora Fire Department’s Fire
Investigation Bureau, responded to the scene, along with police officers and
fire crews from the City of Aurora. Investigator Jones arrived at the scene
and observed the following:
n An intentional explosive was placed in the rear of a 1966
Ford Mustang convertible. The vehicle was parked directly
in front of 3765 South Danube Circle and was white in color
with a black convertible top.
n Then vehicle sustained total damage to the rear half with
fragments of the car found in excess of 240 feet away.
n The explosive forces from the device that was placed in the
Mustang also damaged two neighboring vehicles. The
damage to the two neighboring vehicles, a 1965 Volkswagen
and a 1985 Honda Civic, consisted of scrap metal scraping
the vehicles and broken glass.
n The explosion site was located in a townhouse type complex.
Occupants were in the 3765 South Danube Circle address,
located approximately 25 feet away from the front of the
Mustang.
Page 6
n Investigator William Jones contacted the Fire/ Explosion
Bureau supervisor, Lieutenant Douglas McBee, who
responded to the scene and assisted Investigator Jones in
assessing the explosion damage to the Mustang.
n Lieutenant McBee and Investigator Jones utilized their past
experience and training in the area of explosive scenes, and
readily identified that a high order explosive (i.e., dynamite,
Tovex, military explosives, etc.) was used on the Mustang.
This was determined by examining the metal which had been
ripped and tom away from the Mustang and scattered over
the 240 foot radius from the car. This type of explosion rips
and tears metal, blowing it over a wide area, in contrast to a
low order explosive which generally “pushes” the metal but
rarely rips or shrapnels it in the area of the explosion.
n Lieutenant McBee and Investigator Jones requested
assistance from the Denver Police Bomb Squad in the
investigation of the explosion scene. Detective David Haley
of the Denver Police Bomb Squad arrived and confirmed that
a high order explosive indeed was used on the Mustang and
agreed with Lieutenant McBee’s findings.
One of the officers at the scene canvassed the area and spoke to
witnesses. One witness had observed two males running away from the
explosion site; another had come close to being hit on his bicycle as a
vehicle leaving the area of the explosion raced away. That same car was
observed by a Battalion Chief while responding to the scene.
The Mustang was placed into Police impound and towed to the
Aurora Police Evidence Bay. On August 9, Lieutenant McBee,
Investigator Martin LaRusso (Aurora Fire Investigations Bureau) along
with Investigator Dempsey (Arapahoe County Bomb Squad) began an
indepth investigative analysis of the vehicle. Swabs were taken from the
tom metal areas for analysis by the BATF lab in California. A section of
time fuse was analyzed and found to be orange in color. It also was sent
to the lab.
Lab results later showed the following:
“That a high order explosive was used to blow up the Ford
Mustang and that the explosive was identified as Tovex This
particular type of explosive is sealed within a plastic type sack
and is in a gelled compound. The explosive has the
Page 7
appearance of a sausage and is generally white in color and
has to have a blasting cap to detonate it. A fuse was used
with the explosive thereby revealing that possibly a nonelectric
type blasting cap was used to initiate the detonation.”
Incident #4 - Arapahoe County High School Bombing,
August 30, 1987
Arapahoe County dispatch notified Deputy County Sheriff Dempsey
to respond to a suspicious explosion at Eagle Crest High School. It was
0230 hours on August 30, 1987. When he arrived at the school,
Investigator Dempsey spoke with an investigator from Cunningham Fire
Protection District and an investigator and senior serviceman from Public
Service Company. The three men expressed concern to Dempsey over
damage to a 3-inch gas pipe that came from an emergency generator inside
the high school. They agreed that damage was not consistent with a
natural gas explosion.
Dempsey observed that an 18 by 20-inch hole was blown into the
wall. He found a section of orange time fuse eight feet from the hole.
The section of pipe remaining in the wall had jagged, sharp edges,
consistent with a high explosive charge being placed close to the top of the
Pipe-
At that point, Dempsey called additional personnel to the scene
from the Denver Police Bomb Squad, the Aurora Fire Department and the
Arapahoe County Sheriffs Department. The call to Aurora was made
specifically so that their investigator could compare this explosion to the
bombing of the 1966 Mustang three weeks earlier.
The investigators and detective divided investigation tasks among
themselves: evidence collection, scene sketching, debris analysis and
photographing the scene. They agreed that a high order charge had been
placed on top of the gas line closest to the building. The lit fuse detonated
the main charge and the resulting explosion damaged the gas pipe,
ultimately causing $l0,000-$15,000 in damage. They noted that the blast
residue had a sweet odor.
Investigator Dempsey placed samples from the scene into evidence
and submitted the samples to the California BATF lab. Five months later,
a BATF report dated January 29, 1988 identified the fuse as “similar in
construction to Apache (Coast Fuse) Orange Sequoia safety fuse...” The
report went on to list the chemical components of the sample, concluding
that “these are the major components of DuPont Tovex watergel
Page 8
explosives.” A metal fragment was found to be of aluminum, consistent
with a blasting cap shell.
The day after the high school bombing Investigator Dempsey
received a call from the Boulder Sheriffs Department informing him that
Boulder County had experienced four high order explosions recently. The
Sheriff’s Department noted the car bombings and the gas station explosion
where they found orange time fuse and unexploded Tovex 220. Two other
minor explosions also had indications of a high order explosion. They
discussed the following similarities among the Arapahoe County, Aurora,
and Boulder County explosions:
COMMON FACTORS
n Orange time fuse was found at all four sites.
n All of the explosions occurred after midnight in the early
morning hours.
n The explosions involved nonelectric type blasting caps,
initiated by orange time fuse.
n Placement of the explosives indicated a similar modus
operandi -- an attempt to get a flammable vapor boost from
the explosion to help create a large fireball.
n Masking tape or duct tape was found at all four scenes.
n The explosive used was Tovex.
INFORMANTS PROVIDE CRITICAL BREAK
For approximately one year there were few new developments in the
cases. One unrelated incident, however, ultimately led to key testimony in
the “Grems” case. A number of juveniles who attended Smokey Hill High
School took up the hobby of manufacturing pipe bombs. One of the
youths, Sheldon: was caught with homemade devices in the trunk of his
car. Since it was a first offense and the youth appeared truly contrite,
Aurora Fire Investigator Marty LaRusso requested leniency for Sheldon in
the juvenile courts. In return, Sheldon agreed to be the Department’s eyes
and ears on the street and to report any information about actual bombings
or arson fires.
4 Name has been changed for the sake of this report.
Page 9
Sheldon was as good as his word. Early in the evening of January 4,
1989 he contacted Investigator LaRusso explaining that he knew who was
responsible for bombing the high school in Arapahoe County and the gas
station in Boulder.
Aurora investigators contacted Boulder and Arapahoe County
investigators to assist in the interview of Sheldon. This was done
specifically to have the agencies verify facts only known to them about their
Cases.
Three hours later Sheldon and a friend of his were relating valuable
information to Aurora fire investigators and to an investigator from the
Arapahoe County Bomb Squad. Sheldon’s friend told of seeing explosives
in Chuck’s possession in the summer of 1987; and related that Chuck had
bragged about “blowing up” the high school, going on missions in Boulder
with Gary and Joel, burning four schools in Westminster, and stealing
explosives from a mine near Boulder. Both Sheldon and his friend were
able to provide details about the crime scenes that were not public
knowledge.
Lieutenant LaRusso contacted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms (BATF) on January 5 and related what had transpired the prior
evening. Aurora’s investigator requested that BATF conduct a name
search of the employees of the Fatima mine -- the mine to which
unexploded Tovex from the gas station bombing had been traced. The
name search revealed the identity of the owner who the Aurora
investigator and an BATF Special Agent interviewed the following day.
When asked if he knew the three suspects, the owner admitted that one of
them was his son Gary, who was in the U.S. Navy stationed in port at
Norfolk, Virginia, and that the other two were longtime friends of his son.
Later that same day investigators interviewed yet another informant who
corroborated the earlier reports and elaborated on the description of the
explosives. He also provided details on the cases based on what one of the
suspects had told to him.
THE ARRESTS
A few hours after midnight, on January 7, authorities from the cities
of Denver and Aurora and from Arapahoe County took Chuck into custody
from his residence in Denver. He was later released on bail. Later that
morning Joel was awakened at his home in Westminster and questioned by
officials from Aurora and Boulder County. He admitted to helping steal
Tovex and to participating in missions. Joel told investigators that he got
nosebleeds whenever he entered the mine or touched the explosives. He
Page 10
also acknowledged that he helped bomb the high school, the gas station,
and vehicles; and that he was involved in setting fires in four elementary
schools.
Over the next few days, Joel cooperated with authorities, making
further statements and filling in many details about the bombing and arson
incidents. With his attorney’s assistance, Joel then turned himself in to the
Arapahoe County Jail and Justice Center, and he was placed in jail.
The U.S. Navy was informed that an affidavit of arrest awaited Gary
in Colorado. He was held for extradition in Norfolk until arrangements
could be made to turn him over to authorities in Colorado. He too was
placed in jail.
THE ROLE OF INFORMATION SHARING
The initial sharing of information occurred as part of a conversation
between two investigators from different jurisdictions who compared notes
on recent cases and found the similarities with the Grems’ incidents. In a
short time, investigators were personally helping each other on several of
the scenes suspected to be linked to the same perpetrators.
It is often pointed out that arsonists do not necessarily limit
themselves to the particular boundaries of a single jurisdiction. The Grems
case is a perfect example of how criminals repeat the same crime in
neighboring communities. The initiative taken by a few investigators to
communicate with their colleagues and with BATF about the explosion and
the lab results was critical to putting together the related pieces of solving
the cases. It is for this very reason that county-wide or regional arson task
forces are so often a sensible approach.
While a formal task force was not operating at the time of this case,
the investigators from at least four different agencies established a network
of communication and in some cases assisted each other with the
preliminary scene investigation. At least one investigator from the agencies
of Aurora, Arapahoe, Westminster or Boulder were involved with
interviewing the informant and suspects. This assisted the investigation
process by having the scene investigators ask questions specifically known
to them and strengthened cooperation among agencies. Reports were
required to be turned in to the Aurora Fire Investigations office and were
redistributed as an overall case summary.
In a similar fashion, the prosecutors from the three counties
involved (Adams, Arapahoe and Boulder) had to cooperate in order for
Page 11
the cases to be tied together and prosecuted in one county. This was done
under a plea bargain arrangement, whereby secondary charges were
dropped (burglary, trespass) with the stipulation that the trio plead guilty
on the remaining charges in Arapahoe County courts.
(During the investigation, the three juveniles also admitted to setting
fire to several residences that summer. Interestingly, when their
confessions were checked out, it was discovered that all of these residential
fires were indeed on the records, but that each one had been “determined”
to be accidental.)
STIFF PENALTIES
The Grems case had an unusual conclusion. It was unusual because
the court system and the judge took the bombings and arson fires quite
seriously. Even though the band of three had not caused any casualties
their actions did jeopardize the safety of people living within the
immediate vicinity of the vehicle bombings and the damaged buildings and
cars. Nevertheless, given the lack of casualties, few would have expected
the young men to receive much more than a slap on the wrist.
The State of Colorado recognizes mandatory sentencing. Anyone
convicted of three or more Class 4 or higher felonies is considered to be a
“habitual” offender and the rules of mandatory sentencing are applied. The
three young men admitted to committing at least three crimes rated Class 4
or higher. In return for agreeing to a mandatory, fixed jail time, a plea
bargain was constructed that contained these provisions:
n Immunity from prosecution if found to be involved in any
other fires over the same time period.
n Requirement that they identify the location of any other
explosives that they had stolen. They would then be provided
with immunity from prosecution if connected to any other
explosion in the same time period.
n Requirement that they cooperate with authorities after
sentencing to show how they carried out their crimes, for the
sake of training purposes.
Chuck, the youngest, was tried as a juvenile and received the
maximum term for juveniles: incarcerated for 18 months plus five years
probation. He has since served that time and is now serving his
probationary period. Joel received a jail sentence of eight years; he will
Page 12
serve half that time if he demonstrates good behavior. Since his
incarceration he has been a model prisoner and has earned the right to
weekend leaves. Gary became verbally abusive with the judge and with
one of the Aurora investigators; he was sentenced to 18 years in jail, nine
of which will be served. Currently he is serving his time at a medium
security penitentiary. All three are responsible for restitution.
LESSONS LEARNED
The Grems case provides several lessons on fire investigation and
arson.
1. Be aware of people observing the scene. near the scene. or fleeing
from it. If oossible. take pictures or videotape the spectators.
Fire setters often want to watch the results of their efforts and to
observe public safety officers working at the scene. The “Grems” watched
each bombing and each arson fire from spots near the crime scene. In the
case of the gas station bombing, they drove to a small hill overlooking the
gas station to get a good view of the explosion and of arriving police and
fire equipment. While they were there, a police officer stopped her vehicle
near to them, got out of the car, opened the trunk to remove binoculars,
and watched the scene using the binoculars. She noticed the three
juveniles dressed in camouflage and their car, advised them not to loiter
and continued to observe the scene looking for clues!
A Battalion Chief en route to the Aurora car bombing observed the
defendant’s car speeding away near the site. His observation later
contributed to the case against Gary, Joel and Chuck.
2. Inter-jurisdictional information sharing is extremely valuable in
identifying common modus operandis and targets.
Because there was inter-jurisdictional information sharing, not only
were investigators able to help each other but also when the case went to
prosecution, prosecutors had the overall picture of the seriousness of the
crime spree. The cases against the Grems would have been weaker had
the incidents been divided and tried separately. Separate cases (without
benefit of outside agency reports) would have probably diminished the
sentences.
Page 13
3. Informants often are a critical factor in identifying suspects.
In this case Sheldon’s information was the break in the case that
authorities needed to connect the crimes to the perpetrators. It was not
until authorities questioned Gary’s father (the owner of the mine) a second
time and could name actual suspects that they were able to deduce that the
owner of the mine was also Gary’s father. It was the informant who
provided these names and the information that the boys were stealing their
explosives from the Boulder-area mine.
4. Planning and cooperation between agencies were the keys in a
timely cohesive investigation.
The investigators who were regularly briefed during the investigation
kept all agencies updated with the information that was received. Reports
written from the interviews were centrally received and redistributed in
case summary “packets” so that all prosecutors had the full picture.
Page 14
APPENDIX
Location of GREMS’ Incidents
1487-8-8-91.1
Rll-4.91
Technical Report Series
The Grems Case:
How an Arson Case Was
Solved and Prosecuted
in Colorado
Federal Emergency Management Agency
United States Fire Administration
National Fire Data Center
United States Fire Administration Fire Investigations Program
The United States Fire Administration develops reports on selected major tires throughout the
country. The fires usually involve multiple deaths or a large loss of property. But the primary criterion for
deciding to do a report is whether it will result in significant “lessons learned.” In some cases these lessons
bring to light new knowledge about fire - the effect of building construction or contents, human behavior in
fire, etc. In other cases, the lessons are not new but are serious enough to highlight once again, with yet
another fire tragedy report.
The reports are sent to fire magazines and are distributed at national and regional fire meetings.
The International Association of Fire Chiefs assists USFA in disseminating the findings throughout the fire
service. On a continuing basis the reports are available on request from USFA; announcements of their
availability are published widely in fire journals and newsletters
This body of work provides detailed information on the nature of the fire problem for policy makers
who must decide on allocations of resources between fire and other pressing problems, and within the fire
service to improve codes and code enforcement, training, public fire education, building technology, and
other related areas.
The Fire Administration, which has no regulatory authority, sends an experienced fire investigator
into a community after a major incident only after having conferred with the local fire authorities to insure
that USFA’s assistance and presence would be supportive and would in no way interfere with any review of
the incident they are themselves conducting. The intent is not to arrive during the event or even immediately
after, but rather after the dust settles, so that a complete and objective review of all the important aspects of
the incident can be made. Local authorities review USFA’s report while it is in draft. The USFA
investigator or team is available to local authorities should they wish to request technical assistance for their
own investigation.
This report and its recommendations were developed by USFA staff and by TriData Corporation,
Arlington, Virginia, its staff and consultants, who are under contract to assist the Fire Administration in
carrying out the Fire Reports Program.
The United States Fire Administration wishes to acknowledge the support and cooperation of the
Aurora, Colorado Fire Department who alerted us to this interesting and informative case. In particular we
wish to acknowledge the cooperation of Aurora Fire Chief John Speed and Lieutenant Marty LaRusso,
Supervisor of Aurora’s Fire Investigation Bureau.
For additional copies of this report write to the United States Fire Administration, National Fire
Data Center, 16825 South Seton Avenue, Emmitsburg, Maryland 21727.
The Grems Case:
How an Arson Case Was
Solved and Prosecuted
in Colorado
Report by: Hollis Stambaugh
This is Report 047 of the Major Fires Investigation Project conducted
by TriData Corporation under contract EMW-90-C-3338 to the United
States Fire Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Federal Emergency Management Agency
United States Fire Administration
National Fire Data Center
The Grems Case:
How an Arson Case Was
Solved and Prosecuted
in Colorado
Reported by: Hollis Stambaugb
Primary Local Contacts: Fire Chief John Speed and
Lieutenant Marty LaRusso
Aurora Fire Department
Aurora, Colorado
(303) 695-7110
With assistance from
case documentation
prepared by:
Deputy Sheriff Joseph Dempsey
Deputy Sheriff Scott Linne
Arapahoe County Sheriffs Department
Investigator William Jones
Aurora Fire Department
Detective Katherine Reis
Captain Bruce Goodman
Sergeant Dale Goetz
Boulder County Sheriffs Department
Detective Greg Neal
Westminster Police Department
FORWARD
For many years the United States Fire Administration has been
making available to practitioners, researchers, and students of fire
protection, timely reports on our nation’s most critical fires and hazardous
materials incidents. It is under the Major Fires Investigation Report Series
that important lessons are documented and shared with the fire service so
that we all can learn the best approaches for controlling fire loss and for
enhancing firefighter health and safety.
This report was researched and prepared for inclusion in the Fire
Investigations Report Series because of USFA’s concern over the ominous
trends in our country’s arson experience. Those trends include an increase
in the percentage of residential fire deaths caused by arson, the growing
problem of juveniles and their proportionate over-representation among
arsonists, the use of explosives in set fires, and the ongoing struggle to
coordinate investigation duties between police and fire agencies. Any fire
investigation unit which has recently completed and closed a particularly
noteworthy arson case is encouraged to notify the United States Fire
Administration by contacting the Major Fire Project Officer at
(301) 447-1271. Here the development of the arson case is what is of
interest (more than the magnitude of the fire) including investigation
approaches, interagency coordination, prosecutor support, and the specifics
that led to the final outcome of the case.
CASE CAPSULE
Three juveniles, friends since childhood, stole explosives from a
mine; blew up part of a high school, three vehicles, and a gas station; and
set four elementary school fires while eluding fire and police personnel
from a region in Colorado for two years. Nicknaming themselves “Grems”
after the movie Gremlins, the three often donned camouflage or military
fatigues while carrying out their planned “missions.” Evidence sent to the
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms lab in San Francisco, California and a
taped interview of a juvenile who identified his acquaintances and their
crimes, and the sharing of information among fire investigation agencies
combined to give officials a break in the case, and ultimately led to
unusually stiff sentences for the threesome.
YOUTHFUL MISCHIEF TURNS TO SERIOUS CRIMES
Joel, Chuck, and Gary were above-average in intelligence boys
who spent much of their free time together. As kids, they planned war
games and acted out super hero roles. Later in their teens, they went
camping, sometimes near the site of the John Jay mine above Boulder,
Colorado, that was owned and operated by Gary’s father. Using a
duplicate key he had made from his father’s key, Gary would gain access to
the explosives bunker and, together with his friends, would steal explosives.
At first they experimented by blowing up rocks and ant hills. Soon they
graduated to real property, thus crossing the line from mischief to felony.
In the summer of 1986, the three boys went joyriding and broke
some windows in a Westminster, Colorado elementary school. They left
the scene, drank beer, and drove back to the school where they then threw
1 Names have been changed for the sake of this report.
2 Name suppressed for this report (not “John Jay”).
Page 2
lighted molotov cocktails through the broken windows. Over the course of
the summer, Chuck, Joel, and Gary repeated this pattern of arson
bombings in two other elementary schools; they also returned to the
original school and ignited it a second time. The three boys began calling
their planned fire setting, “missions,” and donned camouflage clothing
before embarking on their sprees They agreed to wear tennis shoes
instead of Army boots, however, to keep down the “clumping” noise that
would be associated with heavy boots.
A year passed. During the summer of 1987, the three boys again
made plans to steal and use explosives. They bombed a high school in
Arapahoe County. A gas station in Boulder County was another target.
Also in Boulder, two of them, Gary and Joel, blew up a Ford Mustang and
a Ford pickup truck A 1966 Mustang parked in a townhouse complex in
Aurora was bombed too.
Following is a synopsis of the investigation of each incident. A map
depicting the location of these incidents and of their proximity to the mine
is presented in the appendix
SYNOPSIS OF INCIDENT INVESTIGATIONS
Incident #1 - Boulder County Vehicle Bombings, May 17, 1987
At 0240 hours on May 17, 1987, the Boulder Regional
Communications Center (dispatch) of the Boulder County Sheriffs
Department received numerous telephone calls from citizens reporting an
explosion in the area of the Habitat Apartment Complex at 6255 Habitat
Drive, Boulder County. Boulder Sheriffs Lieutenant Philip West arrived at
the Habitat Complex at 0250 hours with units from the Boulder Rural
Volunteer Fire Department. Lieutenant West observed a crowd of people
near the southeastern parking lot where two cars had exploded.
The exploded vehicles were subsequently identified as a brown 1979
Ford XLT truck with Colorado license plate 008ILU and a silver 1977
Ford Mustang with Colorado license plate FND911.
Witnesses interviewed by the officers and by fire department
personnel at the Habitat Complex stated they heard two or three
explosions. Some witnesses reported smelling something like burned
gunpowder or burned firecrackers following the explosions, and of seeing
flashes.
Page 3
On May 19, 1987, and on June 1, 1987, Boulder Sheriffs Detective
Phil Raznick and Sergeant Dale Goetz interviewed the owners of the
vehicles. The owners stated that they moved to the apartment on March
16, 1987, and they had no problems with anyone before or since moving.
They knew no motive for their vehicles being bombed.
Sergeant Goetz, who responded to the bombing scene, stated in his
written report that from the direction and pattern of the explosion it
appeared one bomb was placed under the front left comer of the Mustang,
and another bomb was placed on the passenger side of the pickup truck
He found six strands of orange safety fuse -- three to the Mustang, two to
the pickup truck and one adjacent to the vehicles in the grass. Sergeant
Goetz and Detectives Phil Raznick and Rick Ferguson collected evidence
from the cars and the bombing scene for laboratory processing.
On June 2, 1987, Sergeant Goetz shipped the following evidence
from the Habitat bombing to the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms (BATF) laboratory in California requesting analysis including the
identity of the fuse manufacturer and the manufacturer of the blasting cap
and the type of explosive: 1) length of woven fabric sheath; 2) unburned
safety fuse; 3) burned safety fuse; 4) vehicle components; and 5) metal,
paper and foil fragments.
Incident #2 - Boulder County Gas Station Bombing, June 2, 1987
At 0237 hours on June 2, 1987, the Boulder Regional
Communications Center received numerous phone calls reporting
explosions in the area of Arapahoe and 55th Streets, Boulder County.
Investigating Sheriff’s officers found that the A&A Amoco service station,
closed for the night, at 1595 Arapahoe Street was damaged by multiple
explosions. Boulder Sheriff’s officers interviewed witnesses who stated they
heard from two to ten explosions, saw flashes and smoke, and smelled
smoke.
The A&4 Amoco owner told the detective the only possible motive
he could offer was a recently terminated employee. Another Amoco
employee, who had worked at the station until 0015 hours on June 2,
reported to Detective Rasnick that he knew of no motive and that there
were no problems at the station that night.
Sheriffs Sergeant Dale Goetz came to the bombing scene and
directed the collection of evidence at the station. He details in his written
reports that one explosion occurred at the base of the diesel pump, one
explosion at a premium gasoline pump, one explosion at the base of the
Page 4
pump west of the premium gasoline pump, one explosion at the base of an
unleaded gasoline pump, two detonations on one propane tank, one
explosion near the second propane tank, and one explosion next to the
small building adjacent to the main station. Expended orange safety fuse
was found all around the scene. Sergeant Goetz found one unexploded
cartridge of Dupont Tovex explosive next to the small building. He
reported that the blasting cap fell out of the cartridge and failed to cause
the Tovex to explode.
The small building, the gasoline pumps, and the one propane tank
were damaged to the extent that they required removal or replacement.
The unexploded Tovex cartridge displayed a date ship code of
85AP2OX which was relayed to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms agent Roland Gilbert on June 2, 1987, to initiate a records search
to determine who purchased Tovex with that code number. Agent Gilbert
reported to Sergeant Goetz that 99 cases of DuPont Tovex with that date
ship code were sold by DuPont Chemical Company to the Buckley Powder
Company of Grants, New Mexico. The Buckley Powder Company sold
thirty of the 99 cases to Fatima Minerals, Inc. (owner of the John Jay
Mine) of Jamestown, Colorado on June 26, 1985.
Three days later Sergeant Goetz shipped the following evidence
from the Amoco station bombing to the BATF laboratory in California,
requesting analysis including the identity of the fuse manufacturer, the
manufacturer of the blasting cap, and a comparison of these materials with
the evidence from the Habitat Apartment Complex bombing: 1) burned
safety fuse; 2) debris from gas pumps; 3) piece of a blasting cap; and 4)
debris from the propane tanks.
On June 9, 1987, authorities from Boulder County met with the
manager of the John Jay Mine, Tim Hurtle.3 Mr. Hurtle showed them
the powder magazine in which the Tovex was stored. They observed
Tovex with the date ship code of 85AP2OX in 19 sealed cases, one
unsealed case containing 50 tubes, and 23 tubes in a bucket. Fuse type
blasting caps were at the mine, and Mr. Hurtle said those were no longer
used. He showed them the log in which explosives’ use was documented.
Detective Matthews found the log to be very inaccurate and to be a record
from which it was impossible to compute inventory. He said that as many
as 49 sticks of Tovex were unaccounted for.
3 Name has been changed for the sake of this report.
Page 5
Mr. Hurtle told authorities that since August 1985, no Tovex had
been used in the mine. He said locks to the powder magazine were
changed two years prior and that only he and his partner had keys. He
stated that no keys were kept at the mine.
On September 17, 1987, approximately three months after evidence
from the vehicle bombings and the gas station bombings were sent to
BATF, reports of the chemical tests showed the presence of “major
constituents of DuPont Tovex watergel explosives.” The lab further
identified the fuse as “similar in construction to Apache (Coast Fuse)
Orange Sequoia fuse.” Two weeks later in a written report, BATF
concluded that “the materials involved in this investigation are properly
identified as explosive bombs.”
Incident #3 - Aurora Car Bombing, August 8, 1987
On August 8, 1987 at approximately 0114 hours, the Aurora Fire
Department responded to 3765 South Danube Circle in the City of Aurora,
(County of Arapahoe) Colorado, regarding an explosion of a 1966 Ford
Mustang. Investigator William Jones of the Aurora Fire Department’s Fire
Investigation Bureau, responded to the scene, along with police officers and
fire crews from the City of Aurora. Investigator Jones arrived at the scene
and observed the following:
n An intentional explosive was placed in the rear of a 1966
Ford Mustang convertible. The vehicle was parked directly
in front of 3765 South Danube Circle and was white in color
with a black convertible top.
n Then vehicle sustained total damage to the rear half with
fragments of the car found in excess of 240 feet away.
n The explosive forces from the device that was placed in the
Mustang also damaged two neighboring vehicles. The
damage to the two neighboring vehicles, a 1965 Volkswagen
and a 1985 Honda Civic, consisted of scrap metal scraping
the vehicles and broken glass.
n The explosion site was located in a townhouse type complex.
Occupants were in the 3765 South Danube Circle address,
located approximately 25 feet away from the front of the
Mustang.
Page 6
n Investigator William Jones contacted the Fire/ Explosion
Bureau supervisor, Lieutenant Douglas McBee, who
responded to the scene and assisted Investigator Jones in
assessing the explosion damage to the Mustang.
n Lieutenant McBee and Investigator Jones utilized their past
experience and training in the area of explosive scenes, and
readily identified that a high order explosive (i.e., dynamite,
Tovex, military explosives, etc.) was used on the Mustang.
This was determined by examining the metal which had been
ripped and tom away from the Mustang and scattered over
the 240 foot radius from the car. This type of explosion rips
and tears metal, blowing it over a wide area, in contrast to a
low order explosive which generally “pushes” the metal but
rarely rips or shrapnels it in the area of the explosion.
n Lieutenant McBee and Investigator Jones requested
assistance from the Denver Police Bomb Squad in the
investigation of the explosion scene. Detective David Haley
of the Denver Police Bomb Squad arrived and confirmed that
a high order explosive indeed was used on the Mustang and
agreed with Lieutenant McBee’s findings.
One of the officers at the scene canvassed the area and spoke to
witnesses. One witness had observed two males running away from the
explosion site; another had come close to being hit on his bicycle as a
vehicle leaving the area of the explosion raced away. That same car was
observed by a Battalion Chief while responding to the scene.
The Mustang was placed into Police impound and towed to the
Aurora Police Evidence Bay. On August 9, Lieutenant McBee,
Investigator Martin LaRusso (Aurora Fire Investigations Bureau) along
with Investigator Dempsey (Arapahoe County Bomb Squad) began an
indepth investigative analysis of the vehicle. Swabs were taken from the
tom metal areas for analysis by the BATF lab in California. A section of
time fuse was analyzed and found to be orange in color. It also was sent
to the lab.
Lab results later showed the following:
“That a high order explosive was used to blow up the Ford
Mustang and that the explosive was identified as Tovex This
particular type of explosive is sealed within a plastic type sack
and is in a gelled compound. The explosive has the
Page 7
appearance of a sausage and is generally white in color and
has to have a blasting cap to detonate it. A fuse was used
with the explosive thereby revealing that possibly a nonelectric
type blasting cap was used to initiate the detonation.”
Incident #4 - Arapahoe County High School Bombing,
August 30, 1987
Arapahoe County dispatch notified Deputy County Sheriff Dempsey
to respond to a suspicious explosion at Eagle Crest High School. It was
0230 hours on August 30, 1987. When he arrived at the school,
Investigator Dempsey spoke with an investigator from Cunningham Fire
Protection District and an investigator and senior serviceman from Public
Service Company. The three men expressed concern to Dempsey over
damage to a 3-inch gas pipe that came from an emergency generator inside
the high school. They agreed that damage was not consistent with a
natural gas explosion.
Dempsey observed that an 18 by 20-inch hole was blown into the
wall. He found a section of orange time fuse eight feet from the hole.
The section of pipe remaining in the wall had jagged, sharp edges,
consistent with a high explosive charge being placed close to the top of the
Pipe-
At that point, Dempsey called additional personnel to the scene
from the Denver Police Bomb Squad, the Aurora Fire Department and the
Arapahoe County Sheriffs Department. The call to Aurora was made
specifically so that their investigator could compare this explosion to the
bombing of the 1966 Mustang three weeks earlier.
The investigators and detective divided investigation tasks among
themselves: evidence collection, scene sketching, debris analysis and
photographing the scene. They agreed that a high order charge had been
placed on top of the gas line closest to the building. The lit fuse detonated
the main charge and the resulting explosion damaged the gas pipe,
ultimately causing $l0,000-$15,000 in damage. They noted that the blast
residue had a sweet odor.
Investigator Dempsey placed samples from the scene into evidence
and submitted the samples to the California BATF lab. Five months later,
a BATF report dated January 29, 1988 identified the fuse as “similar in
construction to Apache (Coast Fuse) Orange Sequoia safety fuse...” The
report went on to list the chemical components of the sample, concluding
that “these are the major components of DuPont Tovex watergel
Page 8
explosives.” A metal fragment was found to be of aluminum, consistent
with a blasting cap shell.
The day after the high school bombing Investigator Dempsey
received a call from the Boulder Sheriffs Department informing him that
Boulder County had experienced four high order explosions recently. The
Sheriff’s Department noted the car bombings and the gas station explosion
where they found orange time fuse and unexploded Tovex 220. Two other
minor explosions also had indications of a high order explosion. They
discussed the following similarities among the Arapahoe County, Aurora,
and Boulder County explosions:
COMMON FACTORS
n Orange time fuse was found at all four sites.
n All of the explosions occurred after midnight in the early
morning hours.
n The explosions involved nonelectric type blasting caps,
initiated by orange time fuse.
n Placement of the explosives indicated a similar modus
operandi -- an attempt to get a flammable vapor boost from
the explosion to help create a large fireball.
n Masking tape or duct tape was found at all four scenes.
n The explosive used was Tovex.
INFORMANTS PROVIDE CRITICAL BREAK
For approximately one year there were few new developments in the
cases. One unrelated incident, however, ultimately led to key testimony in
the “Grems” case. A number of juveniles who attended Smokey Hill High
School took up the hobby of manufacturing pipe bombs. One of the
youths, Sheldon: was caught with homemade devices in the trunk of his
car. Since it was a first offense and the youth appeared truly contrite,
Aurora Fire Investigator Marty LaRusso requested leniency for Sheldon in
the juvenile courts. In return, Sheldon agreed to be the Department’s eyes
and ears on the street and to report any information about actual bombings
or arson fires.
4 Name has been changed for the sake of this report.
Page 9
Sheldon was as good as his word. Early in the evening of January 4,
1989 he contacted Investigator LaRusso explaining that he knew who was
responsible for bombing the high school in Arapahoe County and the gas
station in Boulder.
Aurora investigators contacted Boulder and Arapahoe County
investigators to assist in the interview of Sheldon. This was done
specifically to have the agencies verify facts only known to them about their
Cases.
Three hours later Sheldon and a friend of his were relating valuable
information to Aurora fire investigators and to an investigator from the
Arapahoe County Bomb Squad. Sheldon’s friend told of seeing explosives
in Chuck’s possession in the summer of 1987; and related that Chuck had
bragged about “blowing up” the high school, going on missions in Boulder
with Gary and Joel, burning four schools in Westminster, and stealing
explosives from a mine near Boulder. Both Sheldon and his friend were
able to provide details about the crime scenes that were not public
knowledge.
Lieutenant LaRusso contacted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms (BATF) on January 5 and related what had transpired the prior
evening. Aurora’s investigator requested that BATF conduct a name
search of the employees of the Fatima mine -- the mine to which
unexploded Tovex from the gas station bombing had been traced. The
name search revealed the identity of the owner who the Aurora
investigator and an BATF Special Agent interviewed the following day.
When asked if he knew the three suspects, the owner admitted that one of
them was his son Gary, who was in the U.S. Navy stationed in port at
Norfolk, Virginia, and that the other two were longtime friends of his son.
Later that same day investigators interviewed yet another informant who
corroborated the earlier reports and elaborated on the description of the
explosives. He also provided details on the cases based on what one of the
suspects had told to him.
THE ARRESTS
A few hours after midnight, on January 7, authorities from the cities
of Denver and Aurora and from Arapahoe County took Chuck into custody
from his residence in Denver. He was later released on bail. Later that
morning Joel was awakened at his home in Westminster and questioned by
officials from Aurora and Boulder County. He admitted to helping steal
Tovex and to participating in missions. Joel told investigators that he got
nosebleeds whenever he entered the mine or touched the explosives. He
Page 10
also acknowledged that he helped bomb the high school, the gas station,
and vehicles; and that he was involved in setting fires in four elementary
schools.
Over the next few days, Joel cooperated with authorities, making
further statements and filling in many details about the bombing and arson
incidents. With his attorney’s assistance, Joel then turned himself in to the
Arapahoe County Jail and Justice Center, and he was placed in jail.
The U.S. Navy was informed that an affidavit of arrest awaited Gary
in Colorado. He was held for extradition in Norfolk until arrangements
could be made to turn him over to authorities in Colorado. He too was
placed in jail.
THE ROLE OF INFORMATION SHARING
The initial sharing of information occurred as part of a conversation
between two investigators from different jurisdictions who compared notes
on recent cases and found the similarities with the Grems’ incidents. In a
short time, investigators were personally helping each other on several of
the scenes suspected to be linked to the same perpetrators.
It is often pointed out that arsonists do not necessarily limit
themselves to the particular boundaries of a single jurisdiction. The Grems
case is a perfect example of how criminals repeat the same crime in
neighboring communities. The initiative taken by a few investigators to
communicate with their colleagues and with BATF about the explosion and
the lab results was critical to putting together the related pieces of solving
the cases. It is for this very reason that county-wide or regional arson task
forces are so often a sensible approach.
While a formal task force was not operating at the time of this case,
the investigators from at least four different agencies established a network
of communication and in some cases assisted each other with the
preliminary scene investigation. At least one investigator from the agencies
of Aurora, Arapahoe, Westminster or Boulder were involved with
interviewing the informant and suspects. This assisted the investigation
process by having the scene investigators ask questions specifically known
to them and strengthened cooperation among agencies. Reports were
required to be turned in to the Aurora Fire Investigations office and were
redistributed as an overall case summary.
In a similar fashion, the prosecutors from the three counties
involved (Adams, Arapahoe and Boulder) had to cooperate in order for
Page 11
the cases to be tied together and prosecuted in one county. This was done
under a plea bargain arrangement, whereby secondary charges were
dropped (burglary, trespass) with the stipulation that the trio plead guilty
on the remaining charges in Arapahoe County courts.
(During the investigation, the three juveniles also admitted to setting
fire to several residences that summer. Interestingly, when their
confessions were checked out, it was discovered that all of these residential
fires were indeed on the records, but that each one had been “determined”
to be accidental.)
STIFF PENALTIES
The Grems case had an unusual conclusion. It was unusual because
the court system and the judge took the bombings and arson fires quite
seriously. Even though the band of three had not caused any casualties
their actions did jeopardize the safety of people living within the
immediate vicinity of the vehicle bombings and the damaged buildings and
cars. Nevertheless, given the lack of casualties, few would have expected
the young men to receive much more than a slap on the wrist.
The State of Colorado recognizes mandatory sentencing. Anyone
convicted of three or more Class 4 or higher felonies is considered to be a
“habitual” offender and the rules of mandatory sentencing are applied. The
three young men admitted to committing at least three crimes rated Class 4
or higher. In return for agreeing to a mandatory, fixed jail time, a plea
bargain was constructed that contained these provisions:
n Immunity from prosecution if found to be involved in any
other fires over the same time period.
n Requirement that they identify the location of any other
explosives that they had stolen. They would then be provided
with immunity from prosecution if connected to any other
explosion in the same time period.
n Requirement that they cooperate with authorities after
sentencing to show how they carried out their crimes, for the
sake of training purposes.
Chuck, the youngest, was tried as a juvenile and received the
maximum term for juveniles: incarcerated for 18 months plus five years
probation. He has since served that time and is now serving his
probationary period. Joel received a jail sentence of eight years; he will
Page 12
serve half that time if he demonstrates good behavior. Since his
incarceration he has been a model prisoner and has earned the right to
weekend leaves. Gary became verbally abusive with the judge and with
one of the Aurora investigators; he was sentenced to 18 years in jail, nine
of which will be served. Currently he is serving his time at a medium
security penitentiary. All three are responsible for restitution.
LESSONS LEARNED
The Grems case provides several lessons on fire investigation and
arson.
1. Be aware of people observing the scene. near the scene. or fleeing
from it. If oossible. take pictures or videotape the spectators.
Fire setters often want to watch the results of their efforts and to
observe public safety officers working at the scene. The “Grems” watched
each bombing and each arson fire from spots near the crime scene. In the
case of the gas station bombing, they drove to a small hill overlooking the
gas station to get a good view of the explosion and of arriving police and
fire equipment. While they were there, a police officer stopped her vehicle
near to them, got out of the car, opened the trunk to remove binoculars,
and watched the scene using the binoculars. She noticed the three
juveniles dressed in camouflage and their car, advised them not to loiter
and continued to observe the scene looking for clues!
A Battalion Chief en route to the Aurora car bombing observed the
defendant’s car speeding away near the site. His observation later
contributed to the case against Gary, Joel and Chuck.
2. Inter-jurisdictional information sharing is extremely valuable in
identifying common modus operandis and targets.
Because there was inter-jurisdictional information sharing, not only
were investigators able to help each other but also when the case went to
prosecution, prosecutors had the overall picture of the seriousness of the
crime spree. The cases against the Grems would have been weaker had
the incidents been divided and tried separately. Separate cases (without
benefit of outside agency reports) would have probably diminished the
sentences.
Page 13
3. Informants often are a critical factor in identifying suspects.
In this case Sheldon’s information was the break in the case that
authorities needed to connect the crimes to the perpetrators. It was not
until authorities questioned Gary’s father (the owner of the mine) a second
time and could name actual suspects that they were able to deduce that the
owner of the mine was also Gary’s father. It was the informant who
provided these names and the information that the boys were stealing their
explosives from the Boulder-area mine.
4. Planning and cooperation between agencies were the keys in a
timely cohesive investigation.
The investigators who were regularly briefed during the investigation
kept all agencies updated with the information that was received. Reports
written from the interviews were centrally received and redistributed in
case summary “packets” so that all prosecutors had the full picture.
Page 14
APPENDIX
Location of GREMS’ Incidents
1487-8-8-91.1
Rll-4.91
10-28-2010 Is leading truth site working for the other side
EXCERPT:
In the nine years since the attacks of September 11, 2010, 9/11 truth has become a significant social movement, with hundreds of millions of adherents worldwide. A Scripps Howard/Ohio University poll in 2006 found that 36% of Americans believe that the US government either promoted the attacks, or intentionally sat on its hands and let the attacks unfold.
Since 2005, the leading portal for news and discussion about 9/11 has been 911blogger.com. Of the many websites for researchers investigating the events of 9/11 (a Google search for “9/11truth” brings up over a half a million results), 911blogger is the most heavily trafficked. The content is user-generated; registered users post items of interest and other users post comments.
But over the past two years, many well respected 9/11 truth activists and scholars have been banned from 911 blogger without explanation or cause, while the moderators have become heavy-handed in squelching the views of one particular group. These actions have caused many of the banned activists to suspect that Blogger has been infiltrated by agents working for the other side, i.e., those tasked with keeping the truth about 9/11 from gaining widespread acceptance.
pdf USFA and TriData
EXCERPT:
This report and its recommendations were developed by USFA staff and by TriData Corporation, Arlington, Virginia, its staff and consultants, who are under contract to assist the Fire Administration in carrying out the Fire Reports Program.
The United States Fire Administration wishes to acknowledge the support and cooperation of the Aurora, Colorado Fire Department who alerted us to this interesting and informative case. In particular we wish to acknowledge the cooperation of Aurora Fire Chief John Speed and Lieutenant Marty LaRusso,
Tridata Corp and 911Blogger
EXCERPT:
Dov and the World Trade Center
Perhaps not coincidentally in May 2001, when Dov served at the Pentagon, it was an SPS (his firm’s) subsidiary, Tridata Corporation, that oversaw the investigation of the first “terrorist” attack on the World Trade Center in 1993. This would have given them intimate knowledge of the security systems and structural blueprints of the World Trade Center. From the '90s through 2001, WTC Security was handled by Securacom, a Kuwait-American firm, on whose board Marvin Bush, the president’s brother, sat. After 9/11, Securacom was let go, changed its name to Stratosec, and was delisted from the Stock Exchange in 2002.
pdf done by Tridata Corp. 94 pages
EXCERPT:
PROPRIETARY/CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
The information contained in this document is the property of TriData, a division of System Planning Corporation and represents proprietary and confidential information. Duplication, use, or disclosure, in whole or part, of the information without the express written permission of System Planning Corporation is prohibited.
Proposal
Comprehensive Master Plan of
Pittsburgh, PA Bureau of Fire
Submitted to:
Ms. Barbara McNees
Mr. Henry Sciortino
Pittsburgh Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority
435 6th Avenue, Room 126
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Submitted by:
TriData Division
System Planning Corporation
1000 Wilson Boulevard, 30th Floor
Arlington, Virginia 22209
(703) 351–8300
October 20, 2006
PROPOSAL: Pittsburgh, PA Bureau of Fire
Comprehensive Master Plan DRAFT
TriData, a Division of October 20, 2006
System Planning Corporation
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. HISTORY OF FIRM ....................................................................... 1
Year Established................................................................. 1
Number of Years Firm Has Been Doing Business.................................................................. 1
Brief History of Firm ........................................................................... 1
Rightweb James Roche
EXCERPT:
Roche’s profile as a corporate executive with strong government and/or military connections is similar to many of his erstwhile colleagues on the board of advisors of the Center for Security Policy, a hardline advocacy group headed by Frank Gaffney that Roche was an advisor for at the time of his appointment as Air Force secretary. According to CSP’s 2002 annual report, more than two dozen of its advisors were given posts in the first George W. Bush administration, including Richard Perle, Elliott Abrams, Robert Andrews, Devon Gaffney Cross, J.D. Crouch, Mitchell Daniels, Kenneth deGraffenreid, Paula Dobriansky, Douglas Feith, Evan Galbraith, Marlin Hefti, Robert Joseph, Steven Kraemer, Keith Payne, Robert Reilly, Roger Robinson, William Schneider Jr., Wayne Schroeder, José Sorzano, Michelle Van Cleave, Arthur Waldron, Pete Wilson, and Dov Zakheim. [16] Like Roche, many of these individuals have worked for defense and security contractors, including Perle (Trireme Partners), Zakheim (Booz Allen Hamilton, System Planning Corp, and others), and Schneider (BAE Systems).
EXCERPT:
In the nine years since the attacks of September 11, 2010, 9/11 truth has become a significant social movement, with hundreds of millions of adherents worldwide. A Scripps Howard/Ohio University poll in 2006 found that 36% of Americans believe that the US government either promoted the attacks, or intentionally sat on its hands and let the attacks unfold.
Since 2005, the leading portal for news and discussion about 9/11 has been 911blogger.com. Of the many websites for researchers investigating the events of 9/11 (a Google search for “9/11truth” brings up over a half a million results), 911blogger is the most heavily trafficked. The content is user-generated; registered users post items of interest and other users post comments.
But over the past two years, many well respected 9/11 truth activists and scholars have been banned from 911 blogger without explanation or cause, while the moderators have become heavy-handed in squelching the views of one particular group. These actions have caused many of the banned activists to suspect that Blogger has been infiltrated by agents working for the other side, i.e., those tasked with keeping the truth about 9/11 from gaining widespread acceptance.
pdf USFA and TriData
EXCERPT:
This report and its recommendations were developed by USFA staff and by TriData Corporation, Arlington, Virginia, its staff and consultants, who are under contract to assist the Fire Administration in carrying out the Fire Reports Program.
The United States Fire Administration wishes to acknowledge the support and cooperation of the Aurora, Colorado Fire Department who alerted us to this interesting and informative case. In particular we wish to acknowledge the cooperation of Aurora Fire Chief John Speed and Lieutenant Marty LaRusso,
Tridata Corp and 911Blogger
EXCERPT:
Dov and the World Trade Center
Perhaps not coincidentally in May 2001, when Dov served at the Pentagon, it was an SPS (his firm’s) subsidiary, Tridata Corporation, that oversaw the investigation of the first “terrorist” attack on the World Trade Center in 1993. This would have given them intimate knowledge of the security systems and structural blueprints of the World Trade Center. From the '90s through 2001, WTC Security was handled by Securacom, a Kuwait-American firm, on whose board Marvin Bush, the president’s brother, sat. After 9/11, Securacom was let go, changed its name to Stratosec, and was delisted from the Stock Exchange in 2002.
pdf done by Tridata Corp. 94 pages
EXCERPT:
PROPRIETARY/CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
The information contained in this document is the property of TriData, a division of System Planning Corporation and represents proprietary and confidential information. Duplication, use, or disclosure, in whole or part, of the information without the express written permission of System Planning Corporation is prohibited.
Proposal
Comprehensive Master Plan of
Pittsburgh, PA Bureau of Fire
Submitted to:
Ms. Barbara McNees
Mr. Henry Sciortino
Pittsburgh Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority
435 6th Avenue, Room 126
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Submitted by:
TriData Division
System Planning Corporation
1000 Wilson Boulevard, 30th Floor
Arlington, Virginia 22209
(703) 351–8300
October 20, 2006
PROPOSAL: Pittsburgh, PA Bureau of Fire
Comprehensive Master Plan DRAFT
TriData, a Division of October 20, 2006
System Planning Corporation
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. HISTORY OF FIRM ....................................................................... 1
Year Established................................................................. 1
Number of Years Firm Has Been Doing Business.................................................................. 1
Brief History of Firm ........................................................................... 1
Rightweb James Roche
EXCERPT:
Roche’s profile as a corporate executive with strong government and/or military connections is similar to many of his erstwhile colleagues on the board of advisors of the Center for Security Policy, a hardline advocacy group headed by Frank Gaffney that Roche was an advisor for at the time of his appointment as Air Force secretary. According to CSP’s 2002 annual report, more than two dozen of its advisors were given posts in the first George W. Bush administration, including Richard Perle, Elliott Abrams, Robert Andrews, Devon Gaffney Cross, J.D. Crouch, Mitchell Daniels, Kenneth deGraffenreid, Paula Dobriansky, Douglas Feith, Evan Galbraith, Marlin Hefti, Robert Joseph, Steven Kraemer, Keith Payne, Robert Reilly, Roger Robinson, William Schneider Jr., Wayne Schroeder, José Sorzano, Michelle Van Cleave, Arthur Waldron, Pete Wilson, and Dov Zakheim. [16] Like Roche, many of these individuals have worked for defense and security contractors, including Perle (Trireme Partners), Zakheim (Booz Allen Hamilton, System Planning Corp, and others), and Schneider (BAE Systems).
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Fluoridation is unconstitutional but few courts dare to flout the moneyed interests
EXCERPT:
Since putting fluoride in the water means putting a toxic mix of heavy metals and radioactive materials such as lead, arsenic, aluminum, cadmium and uranium, as well, it violates the people’s fundamental right to not to be arbitrarily, physically harmed by their government. Therefore the Constitution demands that the Government have a compelling reason to continue the practice. [36]
Fluoride Alert
EXCERPT:
January 2005
Don't Swallow Your Toothpaste
As of April 7th, 1997, the United States FDA (Food & Drug Administration) has required that all fluoride toothpastes sold in the U.S. carry a poison warning on the label. The warning cautions toothpaste users to:
"WARNING: Keep out of reach of children under 6 years of age. If you accidentally swallow more than used for brushing, seek professional help or contact a poison control center immediately."
Why the Need for a Warning?
One of the little-known facts about fluoride toothpaste, is that each tube of toothpaste - even those specifically marketed for children - contains enough fluoride to kill a child.
As detailed below, most "Colgate for Kids" toothpastes - with flavors ranging from bubble gum to watermelon - contain 143 milligrams (mg) of fluoride in each tube. This dose of fluoride is more than double the dose (60 mg) that could kill the average-weighing 2 year old child. It is also greater than the dose capable of killing all average weighing children under the age of 9.
Fortunately, however, toothpaste-induced fatalities have been rarely reported in the US. In a review of Poison Center Control reports between 1989 and 1994, 12,571 reports were found from people who had ingested excess toothpaste. Of these calls, 2 people - probably both children - experienced "major medical outcomes", defined as "signs or symptoms that are life-threatening or result in significant residual disability or disfigurement" (SOURCE: Shulman 1997).
California Code of Regulations, Title 22, Section 66261,126 lists 791 chemicals as Hazardous Waste
EXCERPTs:
1)
(X) toxic (C) corrosive (I) ignitable (R) reactive * =Extremely Hazardous
A chemical denoted with an asterisk is presumed to be an extremely hazardous waste unless it does not exhibit any of the criteria set forth in section 66261.110 and section 66261.113. Trademark chemical names are indicated by all capital letters.
2)
344. *Fluoboric acid, Fluoroboric acid (X,C)
345. Fluoride salts (X)
346. *Fluorine (X,C,R)
347. *Fluoroacetanilide, AFL 1082 (X)
348. *Fluoroacetic acid and salts, Compound 1080 (X)
349. *Fluorosulfonic acid, Fluosulfonic acid (X,C,R)
Hitler and Fluoride
EXCERPT:
THE ADDITION OF FLUORIDE, A POTENTIALLY TOXIC SUBSTANCE, TO THE PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY IS COMPULSORY MASS MEDICATION. IT VIOLATES ALL ETHICAL PRINCIPLES.
Many of the speakers at the Total Health 81 conference referred to the problem we have with our fluoridated drinking water:
DR. JAN DE VRIES, Dr. H.Med., Ph.D., D.Ac., D.O., N.D. "I was very shocked that you poor people in Toronto have to drink this water. We have had a tremendous fight in Holland, which we won. This fluoride water is a chemical soft-working tranquilizer. Hitler put fluoride in the water to keep his prisoners quiet, and the same thing happens in other parts of the world. If I put a homeopathic remedy in this water, the remedy is destroyed. If you can work at getting this out of your water in any way at all, I would be very happy."
Fluoride Stupidity
EXCERPT:
Controversial fluoride is one of the basic ingredients in both PROZAC (FLUoxetene Hydrochloride) and Sarin nerve gas (Isopropyl-Methyl-Phosphoryl FLUoride).
Event planning
EXCERPT:
Business & Meetings
Highlights
Our Merced suites, meeting facilities and lobby areas are equipped with wireless internet access
Earn Marriott Rewards points for booking a meeting or room at our Courtyard Merced suites
Our Merced meeting facilities accommodate up to 40 guests
AV equipment and LCD and overhead projectors are available at our hotel suites in Merced
One meeting room for small gatherings, or our generous lobby space for smaller informal meetings
Ideal location among suites in Merced, perfect for visiting local businesses
Equipment & Services
Business Equipment
Computers
Printers
Business Services
Copy service
Fax service
Overnight delivery/pickup
Meeting Equipment
AV equipment
LCD projector
Microphone
Overhead projector
Merced Meeting Rooms
Group Tours / Meeting Rooms
Library Tours
Community groups who wish to tour the library can contact the Merced County Librarian at (209) 385-7643 for an orientation tour of the main library, or contact a library branch supervisor to tour a branch library. Teachers can contact the Children's Librarian at (209) 385-7646 for classroom group tours.
Meeting Rooms
Individuals (a minimum of three) can reserve the small group public meeting room on the third floor of the Merced County main library.
Non-profit groups can reserve one of two rooms at the main library:
The small group (3-12 people) room on the third floor
Large group room on the first floor (level below the main floor of the library).
For complete information please call Merced County Library at (209) 385-7643.
EXCERPT:
Since putting fluoride in the water means putting a toxic mix of heavy metals and radioactive materials such as lead, arsenic, aluminum, cadmium and uranium, as well, it violates the people’s fundamental right to not to be arbitrarily, physically harmed by their government. Therefore the Constitution demands that the Government have a compelling reason to continue the practice. [36]
Fluoride Alert
EXCERPT:
January 2005
Don't Swallow Your Toothpaste
As of April 7th, 1997, the United States FDA (Food & Drug Administration) has required that all fluoride toothpastes sold in the U.S. carry a poison warning on the label. The warning cautions toothpaste users to:
"WARNING: Keep out of reach of children under 6 years of age. If you accidentally swallow more than used for brushing, seek professional help or contact a poison control center immediately."
Why the Need for a Warning?
One of the little-known facts about fluoride toothpaste, is that each tube of toothpaste - even those specifically marketed for children - contains enough fluoride to kill a child.
As detailed below, most "Colgate for Kids" toothpastes - with flavors ranging from bubble gum to watermelon - contain 143 milligrams (mg) of fluoride in each tube. This dose of fluoride is more than double the dose (60 mg) that could kill the average-weighing 2 year old child. It is also greater than the dose capable of killing all average weighing children under the age of 9.
Fortunately, however, toothpaste-induced fatalities have been rarely reported in the US. In a review of Poison Center Control reports between 1989 and 1994, 12,571 reports were found from people who had ingested excess toothpaste. Of these calls, 2 people - probably both children - experienced "major medical outcomes", defined as "signs or symptoms that are life-threatening or result in significant residual disability or disfigurement" (SOURCE: Shulman 1997).
California Code of Regulations, Title 22, Section 66261,126 lists 791 chemicals as Hazardous Waste
EXCERPTs:
1)
(X) toxic (C) corrosive (I) ignitable (R) reactive * =Extremely Hazardous
A chemical denoted with an asterisk is presumed to be an extremely hazardous waste unless it does not exhibit any of the criteria set forth in section 66261.110 and section 66261.113. Trademark chemical names are indicated by all capital letters.
2)
344. *Fluoboric acid, Fluoroboric acid (X,C)
345. Fluoride salts (X)
346. *Fluorine (X,C,R)
347. *Fluoroacetanilide, AFL 1082 (X)
348. *Fluoroacetic acid and salts, Compound 1080 (X)
349. *Fluorosulfonic acid, Fluosulfonic acid (X,C,R)
Hitler and Fluoride
EXCERPT:
THE ADDITION OF FLUORIDE, A POTENTIALLY TOXIC SUBSTANCE, TO THE PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY IS COMPULSORY MASS MEDICATION. IT VIOLATES ALL ETHICAL PRINCIPLES.
Many of the speakers at the Total Health 81 conference referred to the problem we have with our fluoridated drinking water:
DR. JAN DE VRIES, Dr. H.Med., Ph.D., D.Ac., D.O., N.D. "I was very shocked that you poor people in Toronto have to drink this water. We have had a tremendous fight in Holland, which we won. This fluoride water is a chemical soft-working tranquilizer. Hitler put fluoride in the water to keep his prisoners quiet, and the same thing happens in other parts of the world. If I put a homeopathic remedy in this water, the remedy is destroyed. If you can work at getting this out of your water in any way at all, I would be very happy."
Fluoride Stupidity
EXCERPT:
Controversial fluoride is one of the basic ingredients in both PROZAC (FLUoxetene Hydrochloride) and Sarin nerve gas (Isopropyl-Methyl-Phosphoryl FLUoride).
Event planning
EXCERPT:
Business & Meetings
Highlights
Our Merced suites, meeting facilities and lobby areas are equipped with wireless internet access
Earn Marriott Rewards points for booking a meeting or room at our Courtyard Merced suites
Our Merced meeting facilities accommodate up to 40 guests
AV equipment and LCD and overhead projectors are available at our hotel suites in Merced
One meeting room for small gatherings, or our generous lobby space for smaller informal meetings
Ideal location among suites in Merced, perfect for visiting local businesses
Equipment & Services
Business Equipment
Computers
Printers
Business Services
Copy service
Fax service
Overnight delivery/pickup
Meeting Equipment
AV equipment
LCD projector
Microphone
Overhead projector
Merced Meeting Rooms
Group Tours / Meeting Rooms
Library Tours
Community groups who wish to tour the library can contact the Merced County Librarian at (209) 385-7643 for an orientation tour of the main library, or contact a library branch supervisor to tour a branch library. Teachers can contact the Children's Librarian at (209) 385-7646 for classroom group tours.
Meeting Rooms
Individuals (a minimum of three) can reserve the small group public meeting room on the third floor of the Merced County main library.
Non-profit groups can reserve one of two rooms at the main library:
The small group (3-12 people) room on the third floor
Large group room on the first floor (level below the main floor of the library).
For complete information please call Merced County Library at (209) 385-7643.
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