Judge Denies FAMU Restitution After Bombing - Florida A&M University - Brief Article

Black Issues in Higher Education, Jan 4, 2001

TALLAHASSEE, FLA,

A federal judge has denied Florida A&M University's request for $973,000 in restitution from a man convicted of two racially motivated bombings on the historically Black campus last year.

In a ruling last month, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle found the university is not entitled to compensation for increased security costs and lost income from the withdrawal of 250 students that FAMU officials blamed on the bombings.

The bomber, Lawrence Lombardi, an unemployed White embalmer, is serving a life sentence in federal prison for setting off two pipe bombs. No one was injured but the explosions were accompanied by racist telephone calls and the campus was gripped by fear for a month until his arrest in October 1999.

Federal law does not provide restitution for lost revenue and expenses such as security in cases without injuries, Hinkle wrote.