'Family' of defendants conspired in crimes.

Byline: Bill Bishop The Register-Guard

By their own admission, Operation Backfire defendants conspired to commit at least 20 arsons or attempted arsons in five states from late 1995 until late 2001, doing more than $40 million in damage.

Their members set eight simultaneous fires at a Vail, Colo., ski resort, doing $24 million in damage and igniting nationwide awareness of the radical underground environmental movement in 1998.

They destroyed the Oakridge Ranger Station in 1996, a $5 million loss. They burned 35 SUVs valued at $1 million at a Eugene truck dealership in 2001, declaring it was in support of another activist arrested for an earlier fire at the location. They attacked a Eugene police substation in 2000, in part to test a new design for their incendiary devices, according to prosecutors.

Their crimes cost people jobs and destroyed vast amounts of research data.

And they spurred the nation's largest ever multiagency investigation of the radical underground movement, according to court documents.

The defendants used encryption programs to shield their communications. They conducted secretive training and planning sessions that they called "book club" meetings. They considered themselves "family' and pledged secrecy.

After breaking up in 2001, they eluded authorities for four years - until police found one who made a deal and wore a recorder, leading to the capture of the nation's most destructive underground cell.

In the coming month, six men and four women are scheduled to face a federal judge to be sentenced.

To be sentenced May 22: Stanislas Gregory Meyerhoff, 29. Government's recommended sentence: 15 years, eight months. Prosecutors claim he was involved in 21 criminal acts, was a technical expert on arson devices and traveled the country teaching arson to others in order to destroy university research facilities. He renounced his deeds after his arrest and cooperated with prosecutors. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy, 51 counts of arson in six incidents, eight counts of arson related to the ski resort attack and lesser charges.

May 24: Kevin Tubbs, 38. Recommended sentence: 14 years. Prosecutors describe him as "a leader and organizer," taking part in arsons causing $20 million in damage. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy, 53 counts of arson in eight incidents and also lesser charges.

May 25: Chelsea Dawn Gerlach, 30. Recommended sentence: 10 years. Prosecutors claim Gerlach filled every role in the conspiracy from driver and lookout to planner and incendiary device assembler. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy, 15 counts of arson in four incidents, eight arson counts related to the ski resort attack and lesser charges.

May 29: Darren Todd Thurston, 37. Recommended sentence: three years, one month. A Canadian residing illegally in the United States, Thurston is described by prosecutors as "a wholly committed criminal and saboteur" for the past 17 years. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy and one count of arson.

May 31: Kendall Tankersley, 30. Recommended sentence: four years, three months. Prosecutors say her primary role was lookout. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy and one count each of arson and attempted arson.

May 31: Suzanne Nicole Savoie, 29. Recommended sentence: five years, three months. Prosecutors say she attended all of the group's "book club" training sessions and served as researcher, driver and lookout. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy, 13 counts of arson and one of attempted arson.

June 1: Joyanna Lynn Zacher, 29. Recommended sentence: seven years, eight months. Prosecutors say Zacher served as a planner and full participant in two large attacks. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy, 47 counts of arson and one of attempted arson.

June 1: Nathan Fraser Block, 26. Recommended sentence: seven years, eight months. A partner of Zacher, Block was a planner and full participant in two large attacks, prosecutors say. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy, 47 counts of arson and one of attempted arson.

June 4: Daniel Gerard McGowan, 33. Recommended sentence: seven years, eight months. Prosecutors say he was "a totally committed and dedicated lawbreaker from 1997 onward" in crimes promoting his environmental ideology. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy, 13 counts of arson and one of attempted arson.

June 5: Jonathan Christopher Mark Paul, 41. Recommended sentence: four years, nine months. A longtime public figure among activists, Paul was "a mentor and virtual hero" to some of the Backfire conspirators, prosecutors say. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy and one count of arson.