Van Nuys Man Detained in Arson Threats

Federal and local authorities on Sunday detained a Van Nuys man who they believe wrote a mysterious letter threatening to start fires in order to “settle a score” with the federal government, sources familiar with the case said.

The man was not identified, but sources said he was questioned at length and could face federal charges of sending a threat through the U.S. mail. The man also was being questioned about his possible participation in setting some of the fires that burned more than 200,000 acres of Southern California during the last two weeks.

Although the man was not immediately arrested, sources said charges of sending threatening communications could be filed against him as early as today.

In their sweeping effort to identify suspects in the Southland fires, investigators have devoted considerable resources to tracing a letter sent to about 35 Southern California law enforcement agencies in September and signed by a man identifying himself as “Fedbuster.” When blazes began erupting late last month, investigators said they redoubled their efforts to find the author.

“We don’t know whether he did these fires or not,” one investigator said last week. “He said he was going to, and then someone started lighting them. That’s more than enough to mean that we’d like to find him and ask him a couple questions.”

The federal action Sunday ended several days of surveillance of the suspect and took place under extraordinary security measures. Authorities were reluctant to discuss any aspect of the case, even to acknowledge that the man had been identified and questioned.

Representatives of the two lead law enforcement agencies--the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Federal Bureau of Investigation--said Sunday that they were not allowed to comment on the case. All questions were referred to the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles, where Assistant U.S. Atty. Gregory W. Jessner was assigned to coordinate the federal efforts.

Jessner was in his office Sunday but declined to comment.

Sources said the man’s dispute with the government dates back years, growing out of a case investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and heard by U.S. District Judge Andrew Hauk.

In his letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Times, the man accused agents of improperly seizing property that belonged to him and of treating him and his family rudely. The letter is laced with invective and grammatical errors. Throughout it, the author repeatedly threatens to set fires.

“I’m going to set a big fire, actually more than one,” the author wrote, “to settle a score with one of these agencys and other government people that screwed me bad.”

Later in the letter, the author wrote: “If I get no satisfaction by the time we get a real good volatile fire season, you’ll really regret it you’ll see. . . . They burned me now I’m going to burn back. I fight fire with fire. You like my puns chumps? Sizzle sizzle.”

The man also described himself as being fascinated with fire and said he planned to set a series of blazes that would “add up to bigger than Oakland,” a reference to the fire that engulfed the Oakland hills in 1991.

Although he never identified himself, the author left a number of clues that sources say helped agents from the FBI and the BATF identify him.

For instance, he gave the first initial of the last name of the agent, prosecutor and judge who handled his case. The letter writer demanded apologies from each of those officials.

“Judge H was very disrespectful and belligerent and had a bully kind of attitude and said derogatory things to me personally,” the letter said. “Extra damage unless he apologizes.”

Authorities received the letter in early September and forwarded it to the FBI’s behavioral science section in Quantico, Va. Analysts there scrutinized the seven-page document and assisted a Los Angeles-based task force in tracking down the man they believe wrote it.

The man who allegedly wrote the letter agreed to speak to agents Sunday after they approached him, sources said. At least initially, he was not placed under arrest, although officials declined to comment on whether he was arrested after the interview.

Sources close to the case said they believed that the man would be arraigned in federal court today, possibly on charges of making threatening communications through the mail.

Under federal law, the penalty for threatening communications can be as high as five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Moreover, the man could be charged with a separate count of mailing a threatening communication for each of the 35 or so copies of the letter that he sent to various agencies--an approach that could substantially increase the possible penalties.

Two other people have been arrested in recent days under suspicious circumstances. One was posing as a firefighter and had fake fire department identifications in his car, authorities said. A second man was arrested for attempting to set fire to a tree while he sat in its branches.

Neither of those people has been connected to the region’s recent swath of arsons, however.

Officials have concluded that 19 of the 26 fires in recent weeks were either of suspicious origin or definitely started by arsonists. The two most serious fires--one that destroyed much of Laguna Beach and another that raced through the hills in and around Malibu--were started by arsonists, officials say.

Public outrage and the promise of large rewards have helped fuel a steady stream of tips to law enforcement officers investigating the various blazes. Dozens of tips have already been forwarded to a special arson hot line, and authorities urge anyone with information to come forward. The hot line number is (800) 47-ARSON.