Domestic Terrorist Wanted

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Officials say Leo Burt is the only one who participated in the Sterling Hall bombing that hasn't been brought to justice.

August 24, 1970 has become a day that is taught about in history courses to symbolize the fervor and anger that swirled about during the Vietnam era.  It was a day when anti-war protestors -- even the most radical -- slowed and even halted their protesting, when four young men parked a truck filled with explosives next to Sterling Hall at University of Wisconsin, committing the biggest homegrown terrorist attack until the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. 

The "New Year's Eve Gang" was a radical leftist group, adamant protestors against the Vietnam War, and proponents of peace.  But in expressing these ideals, the New Year's Eve Gang used violent tactics: they participated in demonstrations that turned tumultuous, and they used firebombs towards targets whom expressed beliefs opposite their own. The last major demonstration of the New Year's Eve Gang was the bombing of Sterling Hall. 

In the middle of the night, cops say Leo Burt and his accomplices, David Fine, Dwight Armstrong, and ringleader Karleton "Karl" Armstrong, parked a stolen van outside of Sterling Hall.  The gang had filled the van with ammonium nitrate fertilizer soaked in oil, known as ANFO, an extremely deadly combination; it was the same mixture of chemicals that would be used 25 years later in Oklahoma City.  The getaway car was a white Corvair that belonged to the Armstrong family. 

The group was certain that the bomb would be a success: Madison, Wisc. was already turbulent and the campus was full of anti-war feelings amongst students and faculty alike.  To make matters worse in Madison, the Department of Defense was funding a project called the "Army Research Math Center" at Sterling Hall.  Much of the campus was very opposed to the Vietnam War, to the project, and to its presence on campus. The bomb's purpose was to send a message to the Army Research Math Center and the University -- to get anything affiliated with the war away from their school.

It was never the gangs plan to injure or kill anyone, which is why they delivered the bomb at 3:40am and called a warning into police.  But unfortunately it was too late, the bomb exploded before police could clear the building. 

The Big Blast

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This is an age enhancement of what Leo Burt, now in his mid-50's, might look like today.

People from thirty miles away were awakened by the big boom and pieces of the stolen truck were found on the roofs of eight story buildings three blocks away.

Sterling Hall was in ruins.  The physics department was completely destroyed.  The chemistry department was next to ruined.  Ironically, the New Year's Eve Gang's target, the Army Math Research Center, was only slightly damaged.  Years and years of research was gone.  Thirty-two other buildings on the campus were damaged.  The explosion cost UW over $6 million to repair the damage. 

As Burt, Fine and the Armstrong brothers fled the scene of their crime, they cheered, especially after hearing the initial reports that nobody had been injured.  But soon enough the truth would come out -- their bomb had killed a physics researcher.

Their victim was Robert Fassnacht, a physics researcher studying superconductivity.  His project, which included years and years of research, was also destroyed in the blast.  Many physicists would have to start from scratch.  Fassnacht was a father of three, his children all youngsters.  He was in the lab late because the Fassnacht family was going on a vacation the next day and being such a dedicated worker, Robert wanted to finish his project before leaving.  And in a sad twist of irony, Fassnacht was among the many faculty who, like the New Year's Eve Gang, opposed the Army Math Research Center's presence on campus.  However, he knew better than to fight violence with violence. 

Brought To Justice

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This is another age enhancement picture of what Leo Burt may look like nearly four decades later.

The members of the New Year's Eve Gang were deeply saddened by the cost of their actions.  But their grief didn't last long: instead of turning themselves in, they decided to live life on the run.  Before they parted ways, Leo changed.  The man who had wept at the news of their victim turned ice cold, only caring about his own future and that he wouldn't spend time behind bars for his actions.  The gang split in Toledo, Ohio.  The Armstrong brothers went to New York City.  Leo and David hopped on a Greyhound bus and fled to Canada. 

Within days, the FBI introduced Leo Burt, Karl Armstrong, Dwight Armstrong and David Fine as four of the their 10 Most Wanted Fugitives.  Karl and Dwight had been in trouble for their radical beliefs before, but Leo and David's families were in shock, refusing to believe what their sons had committed.  David Fine was a freshman at UW.  Only 18 years old, he graduated high school in three years.  David "Buzzy" Fine spoke at rallies about peace, and wrote for UW's liberal paper, the Daily Cardinal.  Leo Burt, who introduced Fine to the Armstrong brothers, also wrote for the Cardinal.  He came to UW to be an athlete with part of the crew team, but as the Vietnam War waged on and he continued to write for the paper, his views and priorities radically changed.

Life on the lam proved hard for these men.  Karl was the first to be caught.  In 1972 he was found in Canada living under an alias.  Karl served seven years of a 23-year sentence, and now runs a juice stand eerily close to Sterling Hall.  In 1976 "Buzzy" was captured in the anti-war enclave of San Rafael, Calif., in Marin County. After serving time, he took and passed the Oregon bar exam.  However, because of the bombing and his apparent lack of remorse for Fassnacht's death, Fine was denied admission to the Oregon bar.  The next year, Dwight Armstrong was caught in Toronto, Canada.  By then he had been on the run for seven years, and officials say he was so tired of living life underground, that he was almost relieved to be captured.  Dwight also served time and was released, now working for Union Cab in Madison.

And that leaves Leo Burt, who has evaded police since that fateful day in 1970.  Less than two weeks after the bombing, Burt was indicted on counts of sabotage, destruction of government property, and conspiracy.  Even though he was on the FBI's most wanted for six years, he was never brought to justice. 

All kinds of theories have popped up about why Burt was never tracked down.  Maybe he's dead?  That's one possibility authorities are looking into.  But he might be living under a new identity, another possibility officials say is plausible.  Some people even wonder if he was actually a government plant, imbedded in the New Year's Gang.  But that has been discredited by the FBI. 

We know one fact: Leo Burt, one of the worst terrorists in American history, has evaded justice for nearly forty years. It's time to bring him home, and make him face his vicious crime. 

Back in Madison, Wisc., a memorial plaque was recently unveiled, commemorating the bombing and the life of Robert Fassnacht.  The plaque was placed on the side of Sterling Hall, which still bears signs of the destruction it endured decades ago.