N.J. fugitive dropped from FBI list <http://www.bergen.com:80/region/offwant200012285.htm> Thursday, December 28, 2000 By MITCHEL MADDUX Staff Writer A New Jersey man who has been on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List for more than a decade was removed from its rolls Wednesday after authorities said they were no longer receiving tips or leads on his whereabouts. Arthur Lee Washington Jr., a member of the militant Black Liberation Army, has been a fugitive since a 1989 traffic stop in a New Jersey shore town where authorities say he tried to kill a state trooper by opening fire with a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol. The decision marks the fifth time in the 50-year history of the high-profile most-wanted rolls that the FBI has removed a fugitive for reasons other than capture, verified death, or charges being dropped. In the four previous cases, it found that the fugitives were no longer menaces to society. Because the bureau has "no indication" that Washington has done anything criminal since the Monmouth County traffic stop 11 years ago, he "may not pose a dangerous threat to the American public," the FBI said. Law enforcement officials in New Jersey believe Washington is dead. They cite intelligence reports suggesting that he succumbed to serious health problems associated with the AIDS virus. "His presence on the list is no longer generating leads," said Michelle L. Walensky, a spokeswoman for FBI's fugitive section in Washington. "It is therefore felt that the space on the list can be more efficiently used by spotlighting another case that is more recent." The man replacing Washington on the list, Eric Franklin Rosser, disappeared shortly after his arrest in February in Thailand at a music school he ran for children in Bangkok, officials said. Rosser, 47, has been charged with producing and shipping videotapes of an 11-year-old girl engaging in a sex act with him, officials said. Officials emphasized that Washington's removal from the list, on which the FBI highlights criminals whose capture ranks as a bureau priority, does not mean that he is no longer wanted. "We're going to keep looking for him," Walensky said. "He's still a wanted fugitive, and all available resources are being utilized in order to apprehend him." A New Jersey State Police spokesman said last week that the agency plans to keep Washingon on its own "Top 12 Most Wanted" list until he is captured or his death is confirmed. Washington was a passenger in a car stopped in Neptune by Trooper Michael J. Clayton in April 1989 because its vehicle inspection sticker had expired, officials said. Washington got out of the car and allegedly opened fire on the trooper. No one was injured, and Washington fled, they said. Authorities say Washington was a member of the BLA, a sometimes violent offshoot of the Black Panther Party. Authorities declined to say precisely where they believe Washington went, and they would not say when was the last time he was reported seen. "Because we are actively looking for him, we cannot provide any further details," said FBI Special Agent Sandra Carroll, a spokeswoman for the agency's Newark field office. --- Staff Writer Mitchel Maddux's e-mail address is maddux@northjersey.com
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : 01/09/01 EST