accounts of diamond merchants as though it were their profits and is later transferred to Colonibia. Sophisticated diamond deals are made between various parties with the aiin of "releasing" large amounts of money on the side. Sums of less than $10,000 are deposited in various bank accounts, converted into travelers' checks and then transported to their final destination. But in spite of the ingenuity, undoubtedly one of the most popular and successful ways to launder money is through Jewish religious institutions, such as yeshivas and synagogues. Since the majority of the 47th Street gold and diamond merchants are religious Jews the process is made easier. The Jewish religious institutions badly need funds. The Colombian drug traders can be generous. They transfer their drug money as donations, which go to the Jewish religious institutions one way and come out by the other way back to the donors. On the way, the synagogue or yeshiva obtains a respectable percentage for its pious uses. Everyone is happy, the drug barons who launder their money quickly and efficiently and the synagogue or yeshiva which makes easy money. The first laundering operation in which a Jewish institute in New York was involved was exposed in 1984. A ring which laundered about $23 million while making a profit of $2 million operated at the oldest yeshiva in the city, Tifereth Yerushalayim, located in Manhattan. The laundering was performed for the Kali cartel. The contact man was David Va'anunu, mentioned in the context of the Prism affair, who worked with the cartel's major launderer, Jose Satro. The yeshiva's representative was a very pious Hassid, Mendel Goldenberger, who daily received cash from Va'anunu and deposited the money in the yeshiva's accounts. Goldenberger, who claimed not to have known the source of the money, was convicted of forging bank documents and given five years' suspended imprisonment. Va'anunu was convicted, sentenced to eight years' imprisonment but released much earlier after he became an informer for the DEA. Later, as was stated, he ran into trouble again and fled the US. Nine persons were convicted in that affair, including Rabbi Israel Eidelman, Vice President of the yeshiva and some of its dignitaries. Tiferet Yer-ushalayim faced financial difficulties at that time. It leaders attempted to maintain the students by paying them from the laundered drug profits. The phenomenon, incidentally, is very common among New York Jews. Many Jewish congregations are dying because their members are leaving the city or their former neighborhoods. Thus, the congregations are losing their sources of income and facing large debts. In that situation the road is short for the synagogue or yeshiva to launder drug money as a pious duty, since it means easy money and lots of it. "Laundering money is extremely beneficial to the yeshivas and other Jewish religious institutions," said a source close to the investigation. "They are in a difficult situation and therefore they turn a blind eye to the drug problem. They don't ask what the source of the money is as long as it keeps coming in." The attitude of the pious Jewish community, according to the same source, is: "Drugs are sold anyway. As long as it does not harm our own community and only does good for it, it doesn't matter if we benefit from drug trade." The role of the Israelis is, in many cases, to make the connection between the religious Jewish communities of New York and the Colombians. The Colombians are more satisfied with this method of laundering than with any other because, for political reasons, it is a relatively secure way of which it could be initially assumed that it was not going to be forcibly investigated by the US authorities. Only in July 1990 the situation began to change. The Federal authorities renewed an investigation of some Williamsburg Hassids, owners of jewelry shops on 47th Street, who were suspected of laundering drug money. The investigation focused on the brothers Naftali, Naiklosh and Yitzhak Slilesinger, and on Ya'akov Shlesinger (Naftali's son) and Milon Jakloby, his nephew. The investigators found evidence of close connections between the Slilesingers and the Andonian brothers, members of a Colombian family accused of laundering, almost one billion dollars. The Shlesingers were suspected of laundering money by means of a subsidiary called Bali, through checks drawn from the account of "Camp Yereim" ["Camp of the Pious]" - a Hassidic summer camp in the Catskills. Camp Yereim denies any connection with these checks. On April 7 of this year, Rabbi Abraham Lau, a prominent Hassid from "Magen Abraham" synagogue in Los Angeles was convicted of conspiring to launder drug money. Lau is married to the niece of the Satmar Rebbe, Moshe Teitlebaumi, who wields enormous political influence in New York State. Unfortunately, Lau told an undercover FBI agent about a "sacred network" of Satmar Hassids in which other Orthodox Jews had also participated. The "sacred network", whose membership was strictly limited to pious Jews, operated in the 47th Street area in New York and was capable of laundering up to $5 million weekly, thanks to its widespread contacts with Jewish charitable institutions. Unfortunately, law enforcement agents in New York do not believe that the "sacred network" and the many other Jewish laundering rings have any sanctity. In the past year the Federal activity concerning Israelis and Jews on 47th Street has greatly increased. The investigators now employ the services of many Hebrew translators since the rings, even if composed of native American Jews, employ only "the sacred language" for their operations. Aharon Sharir is, undoubtedly, the major Israeli launderer. He was born in Iraq about 45 years ago, immigrated to Israel with his family at the age of one year, graduated from an Israeli high school, served with distinction in the army and became an expert in fixing delicate mechanical instruments used to mend gold jewelry. In 1979, Sharir came to New York on a tourist visa with $6,000 in his pocket. He went into the gold business, established a small plant for manufacturing gold jewelry and did well. Then, through another Israeli diamond trader, he discovered the laundering business. Sharir reached a laundering activity of about $160,000 per day, six days per week (laundering is not done on the Sabbath), but in 1985 his wings were clipped when he was accused of having swindled a New York bank to the tune of $3 million. He quickly returned the money and was sentenced to a fine and a suspended prison sentence. In 1988 Sharir's laundering activities reached amazing heights. His gold shop on 47tll Street became one of the greatest laundering centers in the entire US. "Three times a week," Sharir told the court at one of the many trials in which he is now testifying, "we received the cash. It used to arrive in canvas sacks, in cardboard boxes or in suitcases. Sometimes there were a million dollars in one shipment." Roy Lopez, representing the Colombian cartels, would arrive from Miami equipped with a document sent from Colombia which contained detailed coded instructions about where to send the money. "Even with automatic money-counting machines it was difficult to count the money," Sharir testified. "It arrived in bills of 5, 10 and 20 dollars. The bills, most of which had been used to sniff cocaine, had a strong odor of coke. A real stink. My employees could not stand it. Every 2-3 hours they had to take a break, go out for some fresh air, so as not to get ill." Sharir's role was to see to it that the money would be transported out of the US and arrive in the bank accounts of the Colombian cartels in Panama and in Colombia. For that purpose he deposited money into his bank accounts, as though it was his profits from the shop, purchased assets for the use of the drug cartels, bought and sold gold at inflated prices from merchants who were part of the conspiracy and concealed money through various manipulations. Finally, all the money was turned into checks drawn on the accounts of Jewish religious institutions. Sharir received from the Colombians 6 percent of the turnover for his labors. Within a short period of time he moved with his family to a luxurious house in Woodmere, on Long Island. He purchased a luxury Jaguar car, showered his wife Miryam with expensive jewels and donated lavishly to Jewish charities. The troubles began in late 1988. In December his shop was raided by American customs and internal revenue agents, after they received notice from his banks concerning the volume of his deposits. They brought dogs to sniff out drugs, carried out a meticulous search of the offices and took away cars fall of documents. Sharir did no lose his cool. While the agents were milling around his offices, he managed to conceal $600,000 which were in his bank account at the time and to transfer the money to a safe place. Simultaneously, Sharir fell out with his Colombian operators who claimed that he stole $26 million of their drug money. Sharir, who denied the accusation, hired an Israeli professional investigator, Lihu Ichilov, to solve the mystery. Ichilov soon became Sharir's partner. He flew to Panama, established two dummy corporations there, opened bank accounts and improved the laundering routes. Following the Federal agents' raid on his offices Sharir did not give up.Within two weeks he opened two other offices on 47th Street and resumed work. When asked by one of his lawyers how he had expected to escape the attentions of the law, Sharir replied: "I changed my system and believed that now, with God's help, I would never be caught." Sharir's new system included Rabbi Yosef Crozet whom we discussed earlier. Crozer's big mouth brought Sharir down, and he was arrested in March 1990. Crozer also led to Sharir confessing to having laundered $200 million. His wife Miryam was arrested together with him. Sharir, under the pressure of the interrogation, agreed to cooperate in exchange for his wife's release and the cancellation of the charges against her. The prosecution agreed. It was an extremely good deal as far as the prosecution was concerned. For three months Sharir fed the Federal investigators with most valuable information concerning the Jewish laundering industry. The information included names, methods of operation, codes, and bank accounts. Sharir led them to the exposure of what is termed the new "cocaine triangle". His information led to the incrimination of more than 35 Jewish launderers, the capture of $10 million and the breakup of numerous Jewish laundering rings. Among others, Sharir incriminated the biggest laundering shark in the history of the US, Stephan Scorkia. The information given by Sharir, who testified at his trial, directly led to his conviction. Scorkia was charged with laundering $300 million, and was sentenced to 660 years' imprisonment. Sharir is now enrolled in the US witness protection program. He lives under an assumed identity, has been released on bail, travels under heavy security between New York, Rhode Island, Arizona and other states, testifies in criminal trials and goes on. His wife Miryam divorced him shortly after the affair erupted. She refuses to comment on the matter and told the Daily News: "I have no intention of talking. I divorced Aharon in order to distance myself from him and from his friends, and that is exactly what I am doing." Sharir was directly responsible for the flight of at least 35 Colombians from the US back to Colombia. One of the escapees was Duvan Arbolda, one of the Kali cartel's major launderers. Arbolda was charged in a Manhattan court of laundering on a vast scale, following Sliarir's testimony. Afler he completes his testifying, Sharir himself will stand trial. The prosecution will agree to a very low sentence, but this does not improve his chances of survival. "At present, Aharon Sharir heads the Kali cartel's wanted list," said an American customs official. Charges have also been served against Lihu Ichilov, Sharir's partner. However, Ichilov fled to Israel on the eve of his trial, in January 199 1. That was the period of the Gulf War and the judge, Richard Owen, who tried Ichilov in absentia, said: "Mr. Ichilov apparently prefers to face the horror of Scud missiles falling on Israel than the American justice system." Note 1. The Satmar Hassidic sect fiercely opposes Zionism. The present rabbi's uncle and predecessor (the position of a rabbi among the Hassids is limited to the members of "the sacred family"), Yoel Taitelbaum, had published learned books in which Zionism was described as an invention of Satan, Israeli victories (especially the one in the Six Day War) were attributed solely to the direct help given to the Israeli army, while the Holocaust was being "justified" as the Divine punishment of the Jews for the sin of some of them becoming Zionists. The present rabbi, although formally continuing the teachings of his uncle, has the most amicable relations with the Israeli government. ===================== CODOH - Box 439016/P-111, San Diego, CA, USA 92143 David Irving's Reply to Jeffrey Shallit's "Lies of Our Times" Installed: 5/16/98, 6: 00 PM, PST Last updated July 21, 1997 Calendar of Conspiracy: A Chronology of Anti-Government Extremist Criminal Activity, January to June 1997 A Militia Watchdog Special Report INTRODUCTION The following is a chronology of some of the events surrounding anti-government criminal activity in the United States during the first half of the year 1997. It illustrates both the scope of such activity-from large-scale acts of terrorism to local acts of harassment and intimidation-and its geographic extent-from major cities like Los Angeles and New York to remote rural areas in Texas and Montana. The chronology is not comprehensive. Although all major events are included, no systemized reporting system exists for smaller scale events. As a result, arrests or convictions for charges such as placing bogus liens, impersonating a public official or committing similar offenses are considerably underrepresented in this report. Such activities occur with a high level of frequency across the nation. More than thirty-three states are listed in this report; however, incidents are occurring in every state. JANUARY January 2, South Dakota: In Rapid City, South Dakota, "freeman" Bill Huseby is bound over for trial. He is charged with sending false documents to the Pennington county Sheriff's Office, a former judge, and a private citizen; also, three misdemeanor charges. January 6, Washington: Seattle resident Richard Frank Burton, arrested with eight other individuals last July on various weapons and conspiracy charges, pleads guilty in U.S. District court to one count of conspiracy and three other charges. His wife, Caitlin Hansen, pleads guilty to one count of destroying and concealing evidence. A third individual, Theodore Carter, pleads guilty to one conspiracy charge and agrees to testify against his fellow defendants. The three are part of a mixed group of militia members and "sovereign citizens." January 6, Oklahoma: Three common-law court advocates plead guilty in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to a federal conspiracy charge. Kenny Moore, Colleen Moore and Wayne Gunwall had filed bogus liens on IRS agents to the amount of $7 million, and had issued "citizens arrest warrants" against several federal officials. The trial of another defendant, Dan Meador, begins on January 8. January 10, Oklahoma: Dan Meador is convicted of obstructing justice and illegally communicating with a member of a federal grand jury (see above). January 13, Virginia: Two Mechanicsville, VA, residents are sentenced to eighteen months in prison on tax evasion charges. Jerry Martin and his wife Sadie Martin, Christian Identity adherents, were "sovereign citizens" who denied the legal existence of the United States. January 16, Oregon: Common law court activist Charles Stewart, leader of a Portland, Oregon group, tries "in absentia" seven IRS agents at his Kangaroo court. Two weeks later, the "court" rules that four of the agents should pay fines of $100,000 each for seizing a Portland home. However, it was up to the man whose home was seized to collect the money. January 22, Georgia, North Carolina: District Attorney Albert Taylor, Jr., prosecutor for the Enotah Circuit in Georgia, requests and receives a "writ of non molestando" to stop a "sovereign citizen," Melvin Julius Robinson, from harassing him. Robinson's actions included filing a $100 million frivolous lawsuit against him and demanding that Taylor appear before the "Our One Supreme Court" of Franklin, North Carolina. In response, Taylor dusted off an ancient writ that probably had never been used in the state to restrain Robinson from using the legal process to "molest, vilify, obstruct, or hinder" the lawful discharge of official duties. January 24, Missouri: Five common law court advocates in Lincoln County, Missouri, are sentenced to two years in prison and a $5,000 fine, and a sixth, Dennis Logan, is sentenced to seven years in prison and a $5,000 fine. The defendants were charged with tampering with a judicial official-specifically, filing a $10.8 million bogus lien against a judge to force him to drop a speeding case involving the daughter of one of the defendants. Nine other defendants, also convicted, have yet to be sentenced. January 24, Minnesota: Michael Moeller is charged in Winona County, Minnesota, of making terroristic threats. Moeller, a militia sympathizer, threatened to blow up the headquarters of the state Department of Natural Resources, where he formerly worked. January 28, Wisconsin: Sally Minniecheske, the wife of Wisconsin Posse Comitatus leader Donald Minniecheskie, is sentenced to nine months for disorderly conduct, obstructing an officer and fleeing arrest. The charges stemmed from a 1995 incident during a property seizure in which Minniecheskie threatened a police chief and led him on a car chase through Tigerton, Wisconsin. The Minniecheskies have been involved in anti-government activities in Tigerton for more than twenty years. January 30, Pennsylvania: In Philadelphia, Christian Identity minister Mark Thomas is indicted on conspiracy charges related to the armed robberies committed by the "Midwestern Bank Bandits," who dubbed themselves the "Aryan Republican Army." Also arrested is Michael Brescia. Brescia and Thomas bring the total number arrested for these robberies to six. January 30, Mississippi, Tennessee: Armed militia members from Mississippi precipitate an unexpected standoff near Memphis, Tennessee, when they show up to halt the eviction of two Southaven residents from their home. Local officials back away from the eviction and say they will pursue the matter in court some more. FEBRUARY February 6, California: Two California men are found guilty of fraud in San Jose for passing bogus checks created by the Montana Freemen. The jury finds Robert Young guilty of conspiracy, three counts of bank fraud, two counts of mail fraud, and one count of filing a false claim with the IRS. Frank Pepper is convicted on two counts of mail fraud. Two other defendants, Leonard Ferrier and Dawn Onalfo, had plead guilty before the trial. February 10, Connecticut: Nena Frankle and John Barney are arrested by local police on charges of interfering with police and criminal trespass, after they resisted attempts by authorities in Connecticut to take possession of their foreclosed residence. Frankle and Barney are members of a group of Connecticut common law court advocates and tax protesters which advocates such resistance. February 10, Ohio: Peter Langan is convicted in federal court in Columbus, Ohio, of five felonies related to 1994 armed robberies of banks in Columbus and Cincinnati. Langan is the leader of the "Midwestern Bank Bandits," who claimed to engage in armed robbery to support their revolutionary struggle. February 14, Missouri: The remaining seven common law court activists of the thirteen convicted earlier in Missouri receive their sentences: six activists sentenced to two years in prison and a seventh activist to seven years. All additionally must pay a $5,000 fine. Ca. February 15, Washington: Charles Miller and three other men are arrested in Washington on sixteen counts of conspiracy to defraud banks, mail fraud, and interstate transportation of stolen property. Another accomplice, Kathleen Cottam, was arrested earlier and pled guilty. The suspects had obtained bogus money orders from Montana Freeman leader LeRoy Schweitzer in 1995 and had been using them to buy cars and motor homes in Washington. Charles Christenson, Kurt Gilson, and Veryl Knowles were also arrested. February 15, Ohio, Washington, Arkansas, Montana, Utah: Near Wilmington, Ohio, Chevie and Cheyne Kehoe, two brothers from Washington, engage in two shootouts with local police during and following a routine traffic stop. A bystander is wounded. The Kehoes, Christian Identity adherents with ties to Aryan Nations and other white supremacist groups, avoid an intensive manhunt and vanish along with their families. Their mobile home is later found near Casper, Wyoming. Chevie Kehoe is wanted for questioning in connection with the murders of an Arkansas gun dealer with ties to the militia movement, and his family. February 18, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Aryan Nations leader Mark Thomas pleads guilty to plotting seven bank robberies and using the cash to further the cause of white supremacy in connection with the Midwestern Bank Bandits. February 20, Georgia: Three Georgia militia members receive stiff sentences for their roles in a conspiracy to build pipe bombs for use against the federal government. Bob Starr is given 8 years, one month; while James McCranie and Troy Spain are sentenced to six ½ years in prison each. February 20, Minnesota: Three Minnesota residents receive convictions for attempting to pass bogus checks obtained from the Montana Freemen. Marilyn Kerkvliet and Robert Leffler are convicted of eight counts of mail fraud and passing counterfeit checks each. Ronald Kerkvliet is convicted of a single count of mail fraud. February 21, Montana, North Carolina: The first conviction arrives for members of the Montana Freemen, who held off authorities for 81 days in the spring of 1996. Russell Landers and an associate, James Vincent Wells, are convicted of seven and twelve federal fraud and conspiracy counts, respectively, ending a trial marked by combative behavior by Landers. The two used bogus money orders to purchase vehicles to drive back to Montana. February 21, Washington: Supporters of the Washington militia/freemen defendants on trial in Seattle file a $1.76 billion lien against the judge, John Coughenour, and five prosecutors. February 24, Texas: Local authorities in Texas issue an arrest warrant for Rick McLaren, leader of the secessionist common-law group, "The Republic of Texas," after McLaren failed to appear for a preliminary hearing on a 1995 burglary charge. However, authorities take no steps to arrest McLaren, who is barricaded in a remote West Texas settlement. February 28, Washington: The Washington militia/freemen explosives conspiracy case ends in a mistrial. The mistrial is declared on federal conspiracy charges against seven people, while four defendants are convicted of weapons charges. Washington State Militia founder John Pitner is convicted of possession and transfer of machine guns. John Lloyd Kirk and Marlin Lane Mack is convicted of possession of unregistered destructive device. Gary Marvin Kuehnoel is convicted of possession of a machine gun. Jururs can not reach verdicts on additional weapons charges against Kirk and his wife Judy Carol Kirk, and against Kuehnoel. Kuehnoel is found innocent of three counts of possession of unregistered firearm. An eighth defendant previously had pled guilty. MARCH March 1, Wisconsin: $2 million cash bond is ordered for Wisconsin man charged with hiring a hit man to murder his estranged wife and her father. James Schuman, the man charged, is a member of Wisconsin Militia. March 2, Washington, Idaho: Trial begins for Charles Barbee, Robert Berry and Jay Merrell, Christian Identity white supremacists part of a bank-robbing gang in Spokane, WA, area associated with the Phineas Priesthood. March 2, Ohio: Ohio Aryan Nations member Morris Gulett is arrested for ramming a Dayton police cruiser then fleeing. March 3, New Hampshire: New Hampshire militia leader pleads guilty to federal charges of stealing $100,000 in equipment from Fort Devens Army base. Fitzhugh MacCrae, member of Hillsborough County Dragoons, admits to three counts. He is the second Dragoon to plead guilty. March 3, Texas: "Republic of Texas" member John Albert Crain files $27 million lawsuit over three traffic tickets in San Angelo. The atmosphere between "Republic of Texas" members and the real government of Texas grows increasingly tense. March 4, Texas: Pecos County Sheriff Steve Bailey warns he may have to use extreme measures to arrest Richard McLaren, "ambassador" for the Republic of Texas, for warrants on burglary and failure to appear in court. McLaren is holed up in a housing resort west of Fort Davis, Texas. March 6, Wisconsin: Federal prosecutors go to court to stop two Milwaukee area men, Robert Raymond and Robert Bernhoft, from selling their "De-Taxing America Program." March 9, Oregon: Salem, Oregon, Militia leader Michael Cross is sentenced to five years on probation for pleading guilty to criminal mistreatment after receiving $25,000 gift from an elderly foster-care resident. Ca. March 9, Texas: Members of extremist group Republic of Texas begin "impeachment" proceedings against Richard McLaren as the group, under pressure from law enforcement authorities, fragments. March 10, California: Elizabeth Broderick of Palmdale, California, is sentenced to nearly seventeen years in prison on 28 charges related to selling more than 8,000 fraudulent "Comptroller Warrants" with a face value of more than $800 million. Several accomplices also receive prison sentences in subsequent weeks. March 12, Connecticut: "Sovereign citizens" John Barney and Nina Barney of Salisbury, CT, appear in court on charges of criminal trespass and interfering with police. They are members of a common law court and they refuse to vacate the properties where they live despite having hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of unpaid loans. March 13, Washington, Idaho: FBI agents arrest a fourth suspect, Brian Ratigan, in the Spokane bombings, about the same time as the prosecution rests in the trial of three other suspects. March 13, Oklahoma: Former Tulsa opera singer Carol Elizabeth Howe is indicted in Federal court in Tulsa, accused of willfully making a bomb threat, possession of a non-registered destructive device and conspiracy. James Dodson Viefhous, already in custody, is also indicted. The two are founders and members of the National Socialist Alliance of Oklahoma, as well as part of the Aryan Intelligence Network. They left a message on this phone network that bombs would be detonated in 15 US cities unless action was taken by December 15 by "white warriors" against the government of the U.S. March 13, Ohio, Pennsylvania: Aryan Republican Army members Scott Stedeford and Peter Langan plead not guilty to conspiracy charges related to bank robberies they carried out. Both have been previously convicted on armed robbery charges. Mark Thomas, an Aryan Nations leader in Pennsylvania, previously pled guilty to the charges. Thomas and another defendant are cooperating with government investigators; a fifth defendant, Michael Brescia, is jailed and awaiting trial. Another suspect committed suicide in jail. March 17, Montana, Indiana: Joe Holland, leader of the North American Volunteer Militia, is sentenced in Missoula, Montana, to 10 years in prison for jury tampering and advocating violence. He is also indicted on charges in Indiana. March 17, Texas: Texas officials issue two more (civil) arrest warrants against Republic of Texas members Robert Kesterson ("secretary of state") and Carolyn Carney ("secretary of inter-agency coordination"). March 17, California: California "Patriot" Timothy Paul Kootenay, is sentenced to 300 days in county jail and four years' probation after pleading guilty to purchasing assault rifles with bogus money orders issued by Family Farm Preservation, a "patriot" group linked with the Posse Comitatus. March 19, Arizona: Six members of the Arizona Viper Militia are sentenced to jail terms for conspiracy to make bombs. The longest sentence is nine years. All had pled guilty. The number eventually increases to 10 who plead guilty. Two do not and will go to trial. March 21, Ohio: The FBI and ATF jointly post a $60,000 reward for information leading to the arrests of Aryan Nations members Cheyne and Chevie Kehoe for shooting at police officers in Ohio in February. The Kehoe brothers are thought to have fled back to their Spokane area origins. March 21, Alabama: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals unanimously affirms the capital murder conviction of a "patriot," George Sibley, Jr., found guilty in the 1993 shooting death of an Opelika police officer. His common-law wife, Linda Lyon Block, is also on death row for the same offense. March 25, North Carolina: Dunn, North Carolina, resident Arvalee McLamb is fined $5,000 and sentenced to five months in prison after pleading guilty to failing to file a federal income tax return. McLamb had ties to the Montana Freemen; he is also charged in a federal indictment of various crimes committed in connection with James Vincent Wells and Montana Freeman Russell Landers. McLamb and Wells belonged to an extremist group innocuously called 'The Civil Rights Task Force." March 25, Kansas: Two Kansas residents are convicted in Tulsa for passing Montana Freemen checks. Bill and Karen Hanzlicek were found guilty of conspiracy, bank fraud, mail fraud and passing a counterfeit check. March 26, Florida: In Stuart, Florida, John Foster, is charged with obtaining $662,000 in bogus checks from the Montana Freemen and using them to pay off the IRS and his mortgage company. March 26, Ohio: In Columbus, Ohio, common law court activist Larry Russell is found guilty of escape and sentenced to 1 ½ years in prison. He fled Ohio following a failed attempt to arrest him for driving without a license, after which he was charged with assaulting a police officer and escape, but was arrested at the Alaska border and extradited. March 27, Nevada: Nevada militia man Harry Tootle is convicted on charges of drawing a gun on a security guard, then resisting arrest. March 27, Arkansas, Missouri: Arkansas citizen Robert Joos is convicted of resisting arrest and carrying a concealed weapon during a confrontation with Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers in 1994. The troopers were attempting to arrest him near his church commune (the "Sacerdotal Order of the David Company") in connection with a 1987 misdemeanor conviction involving a false court summons served to a trooper. Law enforcement authorities are still searching for Timothy Thomas Coombs, wanted for shooting and seriously wounding a state trooper in retaliation for Joos' arrest. March 29, South Carolina, Oregon: In Anderson, SC, Embassy of Heaven member Frank Lewis stages a seven day hunger strike when arrested for driving without a license and operating an uninsured vehicle. This is one of many hunger strikes staged by members of the group, which preaches against all forms of government interference. The Embassy of Heaven issues fake drivers licenses, plates, and registrations for its members; these are purchased by people all over the country. In late winter, Embassy of Heaven members are evicted from their "church" in Sublimity, Oregon, for nonpayment of county taxes. March 30, Michigan: Kalamazoo, Michigan, militia member Brendon Blasz is arrested and indicted on suspicion of making pipe bombs and other illegal explosives. Blasz and his "small militia band" planned to bomb the federal building in Battle Creek, an IRS building, a television station and federal armies, according to an affidavit by an informant. The Michigan Militia claims to have expelled them in 1995. APRIL April 2, Washington, Idaho: The jury hearing Spokane bank bandits case convicts the three defendants on illegal weapons charges and stolen vehicle charges, but deadlocks on the more serious bank robbery and bombing charges when a sole jury member, sympathetic to the right-wing extremists, refuses to convict. April 3, California: A Berkeley, California, woman, Mary Margaret Lund, is convicted of using bogus checks to purchase a motorhome in January 1996. She passed more than $223,000 worth of bad checks. April 5, Montana: Fourteen of the infamous "Montana Freemen" are hit with a 40-count indictment that will take the place of earlier indictments against them. Charges include multiple counts of conspiracy bank fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, false claims, threats to public officials and weapons charges. A second indictment charges eight people with helping fugitives escape arrest. April 7, Washington: Gary Kuehnol, one of the seven Washington militia/freemen charged with conspiracy (see above), pleads guilty to a charge of transferring a machine gun to a federal informer. He will not face new conspiracy charges as a result of the agreement. Another participant, Caitlin Hansen, earlier pled guilty to obstruction of justice and was sentenced to three years of probation. Six still await a new trial. April 8, Montana: Pre-trial hearings begin for the Montana Freemen. April 8, Washington: A Clark County, Washington, motorist is arrested with 2 loaded handguns, a bogus license plate, and a concealed weapons "permit" issued by the "State Militia." Jed Carson was cited on suspicion of operating a vehicle with illegal plates, carrying loaded weapons in a vehicle, driving without a license and failure to provide proof of insurance. The plate read "SOV, 064-MNE, States of America united, America the Republic." His "sales contract" for his vehicle was from the "British West Indies," a non-existent country. April 11, New York: A jury convicts New York city police officer Jose Lugo on tax charges related to nonpayment of taxes on $163,000 of income. Ten other police officers have been convicted on similar charges; four more are facing prosecution. The officers apparently got the idea from Indiana militia leader Joe Holland and other tax protest leaders. April 19, Idaho: New militia group forms in Idaho County, Idaho, called the "Idaho Mountain Boys." Its leader warns that if the county enforces building codes, the militia will be ready to intervene. April 20, Texas: Republic of Texas leader Richard McLaren vows war if authorities try to arrest him. "Once they make the move," he says, 'we'll have millions of Americans on our side - including every militia in the country. We're talking war here." April 20, Montana: Marc and Cheryl Andrea, of Florence, Montana, are indicted for recruiting 125 Missoula area residents into a California-based tax protest organization. April 22, Texas: Republic of Texas member Jo Ann Canaday Turner (see above) is arrested on two counts of contempt of court for filing a fraudulent lien in violation of a court order and for not attending a hearing. April 22, Ohio: Ohio Aryan Nations member Larry Wayne Harris receives a probation sentence after pleading guilty to a single count of wire fraud for obtaining samples of bubonic plague. April 23, Texas: The FBI arrests three men and one woman for planning a bomb attack on a gas refinery northwest of Fort Worth. The planned bombing was to divert attention from an armored car robbery that would finance their extremist activities. The suspects have Klan ties. April 23, California: White supremacist Todd Vanbiber of Winter Park is injured while making a pipe bomb; the weapon blows up in his face. Investigating authorities find materials linking Vanbiber to the neo-Nazi National Alliance, as well as 14 unexploded pipe bombs. April 27, Texas: After police arrest Republic of Texas "chief of security," Bob Scheidt, on weapons possession charges, Republic of Texas members ordered by Richard McLaren storm a nearby residence, firing shots, to kidnap two neighbors as hostages. The incident begins a standoff. The two hostages, a man and his wife, were vocal opponents of McLaren. April 28, Texas: After twelve hours of captivity, Joe and Margaret Ann Rowe are released by Republic of Texas members after authorities swap jailed ROT member Bob Scheidt for the two. Formal charges are filed against six ROT members, from engaging in organized criminal activity to aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon. April 28, California: A huge blast in a Olivehurst, California, home leads to the arrest of sympathizer William Goehler (a convicted rapist), charged with possessing explosives. Goehler suffered a neck injury in the blast at his home, while his wife and one of this children were slightly injured. The explosive material was in a tree outside the home. Goehler is associated with the Twin Cities Free Militia. The previous year, he traveled to Jordan, Montana, to show his support for the Montana Freemen. April 28, Texas: Leaders of the other factions of the splintered Republic of Texas group, Archie Lowe and David Johnson, distance themselves from Richard McLaren. April 28, Texas: A Texas Ranger assault team arrives at Ft. Davis, Texas. About 200 law enforcement officers surround McLaren's location, where close to 10 Republic of Texas members are holed up. April 29, Texas: Two armored personnel carriers arrive at Ft. Davis. They are na