http://www.jsonline.com/news/Metro/may02/41693.asp [While this article has little to do with information security, it lists of some of the 50 odd acts of vandalism/terrorism that Joseph Konopka and his band of vandals commited over the past three years. Knowing this, you have to wonder what Konopka had in mind with the cyanide, laptops, and CTA subway tunnels in Chicago. - WK] By GINA BARTON of the Journal Sentinel staff Last Updated: May 7, 2002 As the self-proclaimed Dr. Chaos threw barbed wire into the electrical system of a central Wisconsin power station, he warned his disciples to close their eyes. One of them didn't listen. A fireball exploded, blinding him for 20 minutes, said Marquette County District Attorney Richard Dufour, who learned of the incident while helping federal authorities investigate a three-year trail of destruction. The November 1998 incident resulted in power failures in 2,000 homes - just one of 53 Wisconsin crimes that federal prosecutors attribute to Joseph D. Konopka, 25, formerly of De Pere. A federal grand jury in Milwaukee on Tuesday returned a 13-count indictment against Konopka. He is accused of conspiring to wreak havoc through 13 counties and causing $800,000 in damage. If convicted, he could face up to 30 years in prison. Konopka remains in custody in Chicago, where he was arrested in March after being caught with cyanide - a potentially deadly chemical - underground near the Chicago subway system. Authorities say his Wisconsin crime spree was far more extensive. Konopka and others are charged with causing about 28 power failures and 20 other service interruptions at power plants throughout Wisconsin, U.S. Attorney Steven M. Biskupic said at a news conference Tuesday. About 30,000 customers were left in the dark. Konopka also is accused of setting buildings on fire, disrupting radio and television broadcasts, disabling an air traffic control system, selling counterfeit software and damaging the computer system of an Internet service provider. Biskupic wouldn't attribute Konopka's alleged acts to a particular motive, but the indictment suggests that they were largely for his own entertainment. Konopka is believed to be the leader of a band of vandalsknown as "The Realm of Chaos," some of whom have been convicted in state courts and have helped investigators build a case against Konopka. Officials believe that he used an online chat room called "Teens for Satan" to contact potential recruits. Recruiting efforts The indictment alleges that Konopka encouraged teenage boys and young men "to join him in ventures designed to entertain themselves by engaging in property damage and then observing the consequences." That seemed to be the case in the November occurrence, which took place as Konopka and his friends were driving home from a rock concert in La Crosse, according to Dufour. "As his name implies, their goal was to create chaos and create anarchy," Dufour said in a telephone interview. Lisa Moller, east region supervisor of corporate security for Alliant Energy, said "these acts of terrorism and anarchy have affected Alliant Energy in an adverse way," resulting in "constant paranoia." Thomas Eells, manager of corporate security for WE Energies, called the group's actions "significant acts of domestic terrorism" that placed people who depend on electrical medical equipment at significant risk. An attack on a WE Energies plant in Shiocton also placed firefighters at risk, said Michael Jenks of the Outagamie County Sheriff's Department. The October 2000 fire spread to an equipment storage facility owned by Bush Brothers and Co., destroying the building during a blaze that lasted several hours. That incident alone resulted in nearly $55,000 in damage. Other actions alleged in the indictment - the result of a joint investigation involving more than a dozen federal and local agencies in two states - include: * Starting a fire in a trash bin at the Heavenly Ham company in Ashwaubenon that spread to a food processing and distribution facility, causing $264,708 in damage. * Turning off the power supply to the equipment at the Wisconsin Air National Guard base at Camp Douglas, interrupting air traffic control communication. * Breaking into the Ledgeview studio of Wisconsin Public Radio and replacing the intended programming with music. As a result, the system switched to emergency broadcast mode. According to the indictment, the incidents began on Valentine's Day in 1998 and continued through January 2001 in Adams, Brown, Calumet, Door, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Kewaunee, Lincoln, Marquette, Oconto, Outagamie, Shawano and Winnebago counties. Biskupic said he expects Konopka to make his initial Wisconsin federal court appearance within 30 days. Meanwhile, some of Konopka's cohorts already have been convicted in state court in Door, Kewanee, Marquette and Shawano counties. Benjamin E. Nell, 18, of Green Bay and Joseph Lemieux, 19, were convicted of property-related misdemeanors in Door and Kewanee counties and have cooperated with his office, said Kewanee County District Attorney Troy C. Dalebroux. In Marquette County, Shawn P. Sullivan, 20, of Green Bay was convicted of a misdemeanor during a jury trial and sentenced to three years of probation and nine months in jail, Dufour said. Twenty-year-old Chad Reimer of Green Bay, who watched the blinding electrical flash, has cooperated with law enforcement agents, Dufour said. Reimer has not been charged. - ISN is currently hosted by Attrition.org To unsubscribe email majordomoat_private with 'unsubscribe isn' in the BODY of the mail.
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