FBI Back at Caltech in Arson Case

Federal agents investigating last summer’s arson fires at four car dealerships in the San Gabriel Valley have returned to Caltech to seize a computer that they suspect may have been used by one of the alleged ecoterrorists to brag about the attacks.

The FBI search late last month focused on a computer found in a building at the university that is accessible only to students and faculty, according to people familiar with the case. Agents also have questioned some graduate students at Caltech.

Authorities cautioned, however, that they had no proof the computer was used by any of the attackers, or that a ring of militant environmentalists was operating at the university.

“That all remains to be seen,” one law enforcement official said Friday.

Said another: “Right now the investigation is continuing and we are still pursuing a lot of leads.”

Last September, FBI agents searched computers at a Caltech library, seeking clues about the identity of a self-described member of the Earth Liberation Front. The search came after someone claiming membership in the ELF contacted The Times and described how he and others set fire to Hummers and other sport utility vehicles at the dealerships.

The arson fires Aug. 22 caused more than $1 million in damage. They also made up one of the more brazen in a string of attacks in California linked to environmental terrorists.

After the attacks, FBI agents arrested but later released one environmental activist. Josh Connole, 25, denied any involvement in the crime and denounced the tactics used by the ELF.

The e-mails sent to The Times drew the interest of the FBI because they included details that could only have been known to investigators and those responsible for the attacks. For example, a message mentioned that the vandals had spray-painted a math theorem on one of the SUVs.

As early as last September, authorities focused on Caltech because it appeared the e-mails may have originated from computers at the campus.

Bob O’Rourke, Caltech’s vice president for public relations, confirmed Friday that the FBI had returned to the campus last month.

“They were here,” he said, adding that FBI agents also questioned some of the university’s graduate students. “It is just an ongoing investigation ... and we are cooperating,” O’Rourke said.