Theodore Kaczynski Indicted in Sacramento

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TUESDAY, JUNE 18, 1996

AG
(202) 616-2777
TDD (202) 514-1888

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Attorney General Janet Reno, together with United States Attorneys Charles J. Stevens (Eastern District of California), Michael J. Yamaguchi (Northern District of California), Faith S. Hochberg (New Jersey), and Sherry S. Matteucci (Montana), today announced the return of a ten-count indictment in Sacramento, California, charging THEODORE JOHN KACZYNSKI with four separate bombings that killed two individuals and injured two others.

"These charges are the result of a multi-agency investigation by the UNABOM Task Force into a series of bombings that occurred across the United States beginning in 1978," said the Attorney General.

The indictment alleges that four bombs that killed Gilbert B. Murray and Hugh Scrutton and injured Drs. Charles Epstein and David Gelernter were placed in, mailed to, or mailed from Sacramento, California. The investigation of a bomb that killed advertising executive Thomas J. Mosser on December 10, 1994 in North Caldwell, New Jersey, for which venue does not lie in Sacramento, is continuing.

KACZYNSKI currently is being held in the District of Montana, where he was arrested on a criminal complaint charging him with possession of bomb components in that district. The government will initiate proceedings to dismiss the Montana complaint and remove KACZYNSKI to Sacramento for arraignment on the charges in the Sacramento indictment. It will defer until a later date a decision regarding prosecution of KACZYNSKI for the charges in the Montana complaint.

According to the indictment, which was returned by a Federal Grand Jury sitting in Sacramento, KACZYNSKI transported the bomb that killed Gilbert B. Murray from Montana to Oakland, California, and then mailed it to the California Forestry Association in Sacramento. When Murray opened the package on April 24, 1995, it exploded and killed him. For these alleged acts, KACZYNSKI is charged with three counts of: transporting an explosive device with intent to kill or injure (18 U.S.C. 844(d)), mailing an explosive device with intent to kill or injure (18 U.S.C. 1716), and using a destructive device in relation to a crime of violence (18 U.S.C. 924(c)). If convicted on the first two of these counts, KACZYNSKI would be subject to a maximum possible sentence of death or life imprisonment on each count. The third of these counts, under Section 924(c), carries a mandatory, consecutive sentence of 30 years imprisonment.

The indictment also charges that KACZYNSKI transported the bomb that killed Hugh Scrutton from Montana to Sacramento, and placed it behind the Rentech computer store in Sacramento. When Scrutton moved the bomb on December 11, 1985, it exploded and killed him. For these alleged acts, KACZYNSKI is charged with one count of transporting an explosive device with intent to kill or injure, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 844(d). If convicted on that charge, KACZYNSKI would be subject to a maximum possible penalty of death or life imprisonment.

The indictment further charges that KACZYNSKI transported two other bombs from Montana to Sacramento, mailing one to Dr. Charles Epstein in Tiburon, California on or about June 18, 1993, and another to Dr. David Gelernter in New Haven, Connecticut, on or about the same date. Both Epstein and Gelernter were injured when they opened the packages and the bombs exploded. For each of these alleged bombings, KACZYNSKI is charged with three counts of: transporting an explosive with intent to kill or injure (18 U.S.C. 844(d)), mailing an explosive device with intent to kill or injure (18 U.S.C. 1716), and using a destructive device in relation to a crime of violence (18 U.S.C. 924(c)). If convicted, KACZYNSKI faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years for each violation of Sections 844(d) and 1716. A conviction on any two of the three Section 924(c) counts contained in the indictment would result in a mandatory sentence of life without parole.

The UNABOM Task Force, which is headquartered in San Francisco, California, is a multi-agency investigation involving the cooperative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of the Treasury's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), the Postal Inspection Service, and numerous state and local law enforcement agencies. It is led by Jim R. Freeman, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's office in San Francisco, and supervised by Terry D. Turchie, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of that office. The UNABOM Task Force coordinated its efforts with and received significant support from the FBI Criminal Investigative Division as well as FBI field offices in Chicago, Newark, New Haven, Sacramento and Salt Lake City.

The prosecution of this UNABOM Task Force case is the result of cooperative efforts within the Department of Justice, including the Department's Criminal Division and twelve of the Department's United States Attorneys and their staffs: James B. Burns of the Northern District of Illinois, Christopher F. Droney of Connecticut, Saul A. Green of the Eastern District of Michigan, Faith S. Hochberg of New Jersey, Nora M. Manella of the Central District of California, Scott M. Matheson, Jr. of Utah, Sherry S. Matteucci of Montana, Katrina M. Pflaumer of the Western District of Washington, John M. Roberts of the Middle District of Tennessee, Charles J. Stevens of the Eastern District of California, Donald K. Stern of Massachusetts, and Michael J. Yamaguchi of the Northern District of California.

Reflecting the multi-district nature of the investigation, the prosecution team for the case is comprised of prosecutors from several United States Attorneys Offices and the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice. It is led by Robert J. Cleary of New Jersey. Its other members are Stephen P. Freccero of San Francisco, Bernard F. Hubley of Montana, R. Steven Lapham of Sacramento, and E. Thomas Roberts and J. Douglas Wilson of the Department's Criminal Division.

The Sacramento prosecution will be supervised by United States Attorney Charles J. Stevens and Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, who is coordinating the overall national investigation.

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