Canadian could face U.S. charges

Associated Press

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — A man can be extradited to the United States to face charges that he plotted to make money through oil and gas futures by blowing up the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, a judge has ruled.

British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Paul Williamson ruled Tuesday there is enough evidence to support extradition of Alfred Heinz Reumayr, 52, of New Westminster, charged with possessing explosives and explosive materials with intent to detonate.

Williamson rejected inclusion of a charge of attempted arson in the extradition order, saying Reumayr was not in the area where investigators say he planned to detonate a series of bombs along the pipeline starting on Jan. 1, 2000.

The arson charge was the most serious of eight faced by Reumayr, who was arrested at a Vancouver-area hotel on Aug. 18, 1999, after being indicted by a federal grand jury in Albuquerque, N.M., defense lawyer Mark Jette said outside the court.

"We’ve won a 50 percent victory and we’ll see what happens next," Jette said.

Canadian Justice Minister Anne McLellan has 90 days to decide when and whether to turn over Reumayr to U.S. authorities, Jette said.

He said he would decide later whether to appeal the extradition order.

Reumayr is accused of planning to buy oil stock, bomb the pipeline at the height of Y2K fears and then sell the stock at a huge profit. He was initially charged in Canada. Those charges were stayed but could be refiled.

Jette said he would prefer a trial in Canada because Reumayr would face a longer prison sentence in the United States and might be adversely affected by public concern since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.

"There’s no way he’s walking away from this scot-free," Jette said, "but everything Reumayr did was in Canada. The argument could be made why didn’t Canada maintain its jurisdiction and to have prosecuted."

Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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