Illinois Brothers Indicted in 2004 Package Bombing of Scottsdale Diversity Office

PHOENIX Two brothers were arrested last week in Illinois after a multi-year investigation into the February 2004 package bombing at the Scottsdale Office of Diversity & Dialogue, which seriously injured two people. They face charges they conspired in the 2004 bombing. On June 16, a federal grand jury in Phoenix returned a three-count indictment charging the two brothers, Dennis Mahon, 58, and Daniel Mahon, 58, both of Illinois. Each faces one felony count of Conspiracy to Damage Buildings and Property by Means of Explosive, related to the 2004 bombing. Dennis Mahon faces two additional counts of Malicious Damage of a Building by Means of Explosive, and Distribution of Information Related to Explosives. The indictment alleges that from roughly September 2003 to January 2009, in the District of Arizona and elsewhere, the Mahons conspired, among other acts, to deliver the bomb to the City of Scottsdale Office of Diversity and Dialogue in an effort to promote racial discord on behalf of the White Aryan Resistance (WAR). Among the overt acts alleged in the indictment, Dennis Mahon participated in the construction of a bomb, disguised in a cardboard box made to appear as a parcel package addressed to a victim in the Office of Diversity and Dialogue. The bomb exploded on February 26, 2004 when the same victim opened the box, injuring him and another person. Among the other overt acts of the conspiracy detailed in the indictment, the Mahons taught the tactics of terrorism with the intent that others commit violent acts on behalf of WAR, including how to plan criminal activity and avoid law enforcement detection, and different methods to build bombs and blow up vehicles and houses with lethal force. A conviction for Conspiracy to Damage Buildings and Property by Means of Explosive or for Malicious Damage of Building by Means of Explosive (Counts One and Two), each carry a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both. A conviction for Distribution of Information Related to Explosives (Count Three) carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both. In determining an actual sentence, the judge will consult the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges. The judge, however, is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, and the Scottsdale Police Department.