>Date: Wed, 2 Jul 2008 15:30:21 -0700
>Subject: [staff-announce] 2007 Arson Outcome
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>By now most of you have probably heard the news that the perpetrator
>of the arson at the 2007 Burning Man event has plead guilty to the
>crime of second degree arson and has been sentenced to 12-48 months in
>jail, and ordered to pay restitution of $25,000 in damages to the
>Burning Man Organization.  Often times the news media doesn't always
>give the full backstory, so we're sending additional information to
>our staff because we believe that all of you who were affected by the
>arson have a right to know the full story.  Plus, every one of us is a
>representative of the Project, and we sometimes find ourselves being
>asked questions within the community about the organization's position
>on issues like this one.  In fact, some members of the staff have
>already asked a few questions about Burning Man's role in the arson,
>so we're going to address them here.  Please note that this email is
>being sent to staff only, and staff policies prevent cutting and
>pasting work emails to other online forums.  But, feel free to
>communicate the information contained in this email should others in
>the community inquire about the Organization's take on the outcome.
>
>Q: What was the Burning Man Organization's role in the prosecution of
>the defendant?
>
>A: The defendant was arrested by the Pershing County Sheriff's Office
>and faced charges in Nevada for First Degree Arson, Destruction of
>Property and Illegal Fireworks. The prosecutor had a choice to bring a
>full-blown trial and seek the maximum penalties for all of these
>charges, or to accept a plea-bargain for a reduced crime with a lesser
>sentence.  The prosecutor advised the Burning Man Organization that he
>believed a plea-bargain would be the best choice for all parties
>involved--the state, the defendant and the victim.  In the interests
>of justice and fairness, the Burning Man Organization agreed with the
>prosecutor that a lesser charge and a lighter sentence would be better
>for everyone, including the defendant.
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>Q: What would have happened if the defendant had demanded a trial
>instead of plea-bargaining?
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>A: The defendant could have been sentenced to nine years in jail for
>first-degree arson.
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>Q: Could Burning Man have refused to press charges or refused to turn
>over receipts to the prosecution?
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>A: Part of putting on the Burning Man event means maintaining good
>relations with Pershing County so that we can continue to have the
>Burning Man event on BLM land within that county.  Good relations
>means cooperating with criminal prosecutions.  Refusing to press
>charges for a felony arson that threatened human life would not bode
>well with the government and law enforcement agencies in Nevada that
>support our event.  Nor would it bode well with the participants and
>staff who could have been seriously injured or killed by this crime.
>Plus, if the Organization had not submitted receipts the prosecution
>would have subpoenaed them anyway.  Finally, there was enough evidence
>against the defendant for the County to prosecute without Burning Man
>pressing charges.
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>Q: How did the Organization compute the restitution costs?
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>A: Once the prosecutor requested the information, the Accounting
>Department compiled documentation of the following costs: lumber,
>hardware, burlap, wax, fabric, neon, labor, fuel, meals, delivery
>charges and heavy equipment use.  Because some receipts were not
>available, the Organization relied on the costs for the first build as
>evidence of what the costs of the second build were.  Of all the
>receipts that were available the total came to a little over $30,000.
>Based on the evidence submitted by the prosecution, as well as the
>good points raised by the defendant's counsel, the Court felt that
>$25,000 was a fair and reasonable amount.
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>Q: What about the cost of the artwork under the Pavilion that was
>never exhibited due to the crime?
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>A: The total cost of the art grants and the wages of the staff who
>worked so hard to get the projects on playa came to an additional
>$42,000 in documented costs.  However, criminal restitution only
>covers materials that were actually lost.  To recover these additional
>costs would require bringing a civil suit for destruction of property.
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>Q: Is the Burning Man Organization going to pursue a civil suit
>against the defendant for the additional costs that were not recovered
>in the criminal sentencing?
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>A: No.  The Organization feels that the defendant's plea bargain is a
>fair and just outcome for all parties involved.
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>Q: So, how does the Organization feel about the sentence?
>
>A: An organization does not have feelings, of course - only the
>individual people within it do.  Like all of you, and the rest of the
>community, the staff and the board were diversely affected by the
>premature burn, and each of us has our own human response to the
>outcome.  Not one of us can speak for what everyone around here feels
>now that this chapter of our history ends, but we can say that we're
>uniformly glad to have this crime behind us, and we're looking forward
>to burning the Man together in 2008.
>
>
>Ray Allen
>Executive Project Manager
>Black Rock City, LLC
>1900 Third Street
>San Francisco, CA 94158-2502
>(415) 865-3800 x137
>ray@burningman.com
>
>"Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming
>attractions."--Albert Einstein
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