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David Fine

Released
Date of birth:15. 04. 1952
Age:74
Gender:Male
Race:White
Era:1970s
State:Wisconsin
Time Imprisoned:
3 Years 0 Days
Support
Anti-War New Years Gang
David Fine

Biography

David Sylvan Fine was an 18-year-old University of Wisconsin-Madison student in 1970 and one of the four-man New Years Gang who carried out the August 24, 1970 ammonium-nitrate truck bombing of Sterling Hall on the UW-Madison campus, killing researcher Robert Fassnacht. He fled to Canada with co-defendant Leo Burt and lived underground for over five years. He was arrested on January 7, 1976 in San Rafael, California. He pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Wisconsin and was sentenced to 7 years in federal prison. He served 3 years and was released in 1979. (Leo Burt remains a fugitive as of 2025 — the longest-held FBI Most Wanted listing in U.S. history.)

Case

Charges: Federal destruction of government property and Wisconsin state charges - August 24, 1970 Sterling Hall bombing
Arrested: Jan 6, 1976
Sentenced: Apr 14, 1976
Incarcerated: Apr 14, 1976
Released: Apr 14, 1979
Sentence: 7 years federal prison; served 3 years Verdict as recorded: Yes - guilty plea, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, 1976
Convicted: Yes