.............................................................. >From the New Paradigms Project [Not Necessarily Endorsed]: From: "Alex Constantine" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Lloyd" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Still No Rudolph Date: Thursday, July 06, 2000 1:58 AM The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 3.17.2000 Millions later, no Rudolph By "mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]" Marlon Manuel Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer Where's bombing suspect Eric Robert Rudolph? No one seems to know. But <i>not </i> finding him has cost millions in tax dollars. The 26-month search for the suspect in a 1998 Birmingham abortion clinic bombing and three earlier Atlanta blasts has cost at least $13.4 million in state and federal resources, according to agency estimates requested by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Rudolph's pseudo-celebrity status once spawned T-shirts, bumper stickers, cabin rentals and tall tales in the picturesque mountains of western North Carolina. "Rudolph eats here," one restaurant marquee read. His Appalachian disappearing act has created a mountain of bills, covering everything from salaries to helicopter flights to long underwear. His elusiveness also has left a trail of frustration. "If we knew where Mr. Rudolph was, we'd put handcuffs on him," said Jack Killorin, agent in charge of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in Atlanta. "There's ample evidence out there that we just don't know where Mr. Rudolph is." Dozens of agencies -- including several in Georgia -- have looked for the 33-year-old former carpenter. As for the public expense so far revealed, about one-third -- $4.6 million -- exceeds normal operating costs and has been triggered by the search. The remaining cost, mostly salaries and benefits, would have been paid to agents even if the search hadn't occurred. However, the complete search cost by multiple agencies may be millions higher. Neither FBI headquarters in Washington nor the FBI field office in Atlanta has released an estimate on the Rudolph search. One clue as to the magnitude of the FBI's potential spending on the Rudolph search might be gleaned from the cost of a 1996 standoff with the Montana Freemen at a remote location near Billings, Mont. During that 81-day operation, the FBI spent $7.5 million, according to a report by the General Accounting Office. The Rudolph search has eclipsed 776 days. Led by the FBI, the multiagency Southeast Bomb Task Force has hunkered down for two years in Andrews, N.C. FBI expenditures probably will account for most of the money spent on the nationwide manhunt. On Thursday, FBI Director Louis Freeh testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee's panel on funding the Commerce, Justice and State departments about the bureau's spending plan for the coming year. Rep. Charles Taylor (R-N.C.), whose district includes the primary search area, questioned Freeh about the investigation. "With respect to total expenditures, I'd have to come back with a more exact number," Freeh said. "Clearly, with the salaries and the infrastructure, we're talking about several millions of dollars just on the FBI's part." Freeh plans to visit with investigators next week to evaluate whether additional agents are needed and to talk with local law enforcement officials. "Our theory has been, one, that he is there," the director said. "Secondly, the pressure of being pursued, we believe, has contributed to him not doing . . . what the FBI suspects he has done in the past." Task force leaders vow to search for Rudolph until he's captured or confirmed dead. The last verified sighting of the fugitive came in the North Carolina mountains in July 1998. The FBI has promised to make a millionaire out of anyone who gives information that leads to Rudolph's arrest. But that would be hard to do if he's dead, and the outgoing head of the ATF in Washington said in December that he thinks that's exactly what has happened. That set Nantahala resident John Wagner to wondering about how to collect the loot: "They tell me, 'Just bring in his teeth.' " Millions have been doled out in Georgia in tax money spent to hunt Rudolph. The GBI and the Georgia Department of Corrections together have contributed nearly 40 cents for every dollar so far acknowledged in the nationwide manhunt. Overtime pay accounts for $1.5 million. "Work in a criminal case, it's going to cost money to do that," said Vernon Keenan, GBI assistant director. "It's a matter of prioritizing your cases, and this certainly was a priority case." The largest reported share of the growing price tag belongs to the ATF. In response to a request for public records, ATF headquarters in Washington reported spending about $8 million looking for Rudolph -- more than half the total cost revealed thus far. The manhunt forced the ATF to lay out $3 million it otherwise might not have spent. The estimate covers activity from Jan. 29, 1998 -- the date of the fatal bombing at a Birmingham abortion clinic -- through Oct. 1, 1999, the end of the last fiscal year. "That's not unreasonable," said Killorin, ATF chief in Atlanta, a major contributor to the task force. "We've had a large number of people up there. And this search is not just in the Nantahala Forest. We get leads from all over the country. "There's one thing I don't think people understand. I didn't understand it at first. My idea of wilderness was Piedmont Park. It was kind of like searching and you're told you're looking for a point somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. It's a raw, natural wilderness, and it's nothing like Piedmont Park." After a nail bomb was detonated at the New Woman All Women Health Care Clinic in Birmingham and killed an off-duty police officer providing security, agents descended on the Nantahala region of North Carolina, where Rudolph grew up. Officials characterized Rudolph as a survivalist and theorized he was hiding in the dense mountain woods. Federal officials later charged Rudolph with the Birmingham blast as well as three prior Atlanta bombings: the deadly explosion at Centennial Olympic Park during the Atlanta Games on July 27, 1996, and the 1997 blasts at an abortion clinic and at a gay and lesbian nightclub. The search estimate does not include investigative work done on the Atlanta bombings, which occurred before Rudolph was identified as a suspect. It also omits the costs incurred by local agencies, such as police departments in Atlanta, Birmingham and Andrews and Murphy, N.C. "It was quite a bit of extra time," said Jack Thompson, for- mer sheriff in Murphy. "I think the community would think it's a waste of money, just the number of people and the work. Of course, it helped the economy, too, especially in the winter." The mountain search created a cottage industry along the winding two-lane roads of western North Carolina, especially after the sighting in July 1998. Entrepreneurs sold bumper stickers. Agents rented cabins. Reporters jammed hotels. Restaurants that never before had lines began turning away frustrated locals. Some investigators remain in Andrews. However, few, if any, tactical searchers are there. Neither the GBI nor the Georgia Department of Corrections still has people stationed in North Carolina. "You do reach a point where it's no longer appropriate to keep putting work into a case when the work is not there," said the GBI's Keenan. With most of the searchers gone, much of the work currently belongs to accountants. The GBI and the state Corrections Department still are waiting for FBI reimbursement for expenses. Together, the GBI and the state Corrections Department have spent $5.3 million looking for Rudolph. The Corrections Department estimates spending more than $4.3 million assisting the task force from July 1998 through Dec. 31. Prison guards joined the task force after federal agents reached an agreement with then-Commissioner Wayne Garner. Soon after newly elected Gov. Roy Barnes replaced Garner with Jim Wetherington in April 1999, the new commissioner became concerned that the reduction of prison guards in state facilities might create a safety hazard. The Corrections Department ended its task force commitment on New Year's Eve. "We had concerns about where our money was being spent," said Mike Light, Wetherington's executive assistant. "We had to weigh our participation against all other concerns we had." More than 350 members of the department's tactical squads -- teams trained to handle prison riots -- helped the task force. They provided security for the Andrews command post and tried tracking Rudolph with their highly regarded bloodhound teams. Under agreements reached with the FBI, the state Corrections Department has requested $1.5 million in federal reimbursement. Nearly $982,000 is under review and remains unpaid by the FBI. Before the GBI withdrew from Andrews, the bureau had 25 agents assigned various roles, including supervisors, analysts, investigators, print experts and bomb squad members. The GBI estimates its Rudolph-related expenses at $971,000 from January 1998 to January 2000, when just four investigators remained on the case. Agents contend the fugitive they're hunting would have bombed again if not for their intervention. Consistently at press briefings in Andrews, task force leaders called Rudolph a coward, not the folklore hero he's become in some circles. "What do you get for your money?" asked the ATF's Killorin. "With the search, he's been identified and charged. What's left is for him to be apprehended. We believe our pressure on him has helped protect against other incidents." Rebecca Carr of the Cox Washington Bureau contributed to this article. Forwarded for info and discussion from the New Paradigms Discussion List, not necessarily endorsed by: *********************************** Lloyd Miller, Research Director for A-albionic Research a ruling class/conspiracy research resource for the entire political-ideological spectrum. **FREE RARE BOOK SEARCH: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ** Explore Our Archive: <http://a-albionic.com/a-albionic.html> <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! 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