Eco-arsonist Sentenced to 78 Months Prison - Released

The Judge increased the ordinary 60-month mandatory minimum term for arson based on finding that the arson attacks were committed in an aggravated manner calculated to influence fear.

June 9, 2009

PORTLAND OR NEWS -- Released from a medium-security prison in California, radical environmentalist and eco arsonist Tre Arrow flew to Portland and then bicycled on the back of a tandem to a halfway house where he finish the last six months of a prison sentence. Arrow says he is a political prisoner and setting fire to cement and logging trucks was in protest of government policies.

After completing his prison term, Arrow will be on supervised release for three years. In addition to reporting to a U.S. probation officer and meeting other conditions, Arrow must maintain full employment and a stable residence, and will be prohibited from knowingly associating with individuals and groups, such as the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) and the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), which engage in or advocate terrorist criminal activity.

Tre Arrow, formerly known as Michael J. Scarpitti, 34, was sentenced August 12, 2008, to 78 months in federal prison for his part in two arson attacks in 2001 by U.S. District Judge James A. Redden. Arrow had earlier pleaded guilty, acknowledging he set fire to cement-mixing trucks at Ross Island Sand and Gravel Company in Portland on April 15, 2001, and logging trucks at Schoppert Logging Company in Eagle Creek, Oregon, on June 1, 2001. Arrow's three co-defendants, Angela M. Cesario, Jeremy D. Rosenbloom, and Jacob D.B. Sherman, pled guilty in 2003 and have each completed 41-month prison terms.

Originally indicted in August 2002, Arrow became an international fugitive and eluded authorities until his arrest for shoplifting in Victoria, British Columbia, on March 13, 2004. He unsuccessfully resisted extradition and was returned to the United States on February 29, 2008. Federal law requires that Arrow receive credit for time served in Canadian prison awaiting extradition.

In Tre Arrow's arson case, Judge Redden increased the ordinary 60-month mandatory minimum term for arson based on a finding that Arrow committed the arson attacks in an aggravated manner calculated to influence or affect the conduct of the victims by intimidation, coercion and retaliation. The court also ordered Arrow to pay restitution of $101,057.09 for the Ross Island arson and $53,500 for the arson at Schoppert Logging, jointly and severally with his co-defendants. Arrow waived the right to appeal his sentence.

The case against, eco-arsonist Tre Arrow was successfully prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen F. Peifer in Portland, Oregon federal court.

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