Rewards

For Justice

By Jessica Bujol

Associated Press

NORWALK – One of the founders of Priceline.com is hoping to fight terrorism with cash.

The Rewards for Justice Fund, co-created by Scott Case and his friend Joe Rutledge has been set up in the aftermath of September 11 to provide cash rewards to informants who provide details of planned terrorist strikes before they happen.

The rewards will be administered by the State Department’s Rewards for Justice Program.

Susan Pittman, a State Department spokeswoman, said the department had been approached by the pair and fully supported their efforts.

Case, who was one of the founders of Priceline with Jay S. Walker, said like many Americans, he and Rutledge wanted to do something to stop terrorists from striking again.

“What we were really looking for was to get the root cause,” Case said. “We didn’t exactly have a long list of terrorists that we knew.”

After doing some research, the pair discovered the Rewards for Justice Program and decided to set up a fund to support it. Essentially, Case explained, when people see a wanted poster for a terrorist that promises a $5 million reward, that reward money comes from the program.

“Up until this horrible tragedy they were tapped out in terms of being able to offer up to $5 million, but now the president has upped that to $25 million,” he said.

The reward money, Case said, “will turn people from supporters and sympathizers of terrorism to informants.”

The idea makes business sense, too, Case said. When an informant comes forward and a planned terrorist act is kept from becoming a reality, it’s a good return on a sound investment, he said.

“If we can prevent terrorist acts from happening, then we can prevent having to raise money for relief funds afterward,” Case said.

Case, Rutledge and a group of friends have pledged to raise $1 million to start the fund.