U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft on Wednesday announced the successful conclusion of a two-year undercover investigation, Operation Avalanche. The national operation used 30 federally funded task forces to combat Internet crimes against children.

The Dallas Police Department's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force ran the operation from a second-floor office at police headquarters.

"Operation Avalanche stands as a model of federal, state and local cooperation in the investigation, prosecution and - perhaps more importantly - prevention of the sexual exploitation of children," Mr. Ashcroft said.

The investigation started in 1999 after local and federal authorities raided Landslide Operations Inc., a business operated by Thomas and Janice Reedy in Fort Worth. Landslide grossed as much as $1.4 million in one month alone, the profits coming from monthly fees that viewers paid to access child pornography Web sites, authorities said.

Mr. Reedy, 37, was sentenced to life in prison on Monday. He was convicted of 89 counts of conspiracy, possession and distribution of illegal images of minors. Mrs. Reedy, 32, received 14 years in prison on criminal charges related to child pornography distribution.

Operation Avalanche targeted Landslide subscribers who solicited children online and purchased child pornography over the Internet that would be sent via mail. The operation centered in Dallas after a tip funneled through federal investigative offices here.

Authorities partnered with several local Microsoft computer experts who helped police retrieve the company's customer database. The database consisted of more than 300,000 entries with names, credit card numbers and e-mail addresses, said Lt. Bill Walsh, who supervises the child exploitation unit.

Investigators made their first arrest - of an Irving man - within five days of setting up the undercover operation. Over the next two years, more than 140 searches were conducted in 37 states.

"This has allowed us to cast a protective web over the country," said Sgt. Byron Fassett, a supervisor in the child exploitation unit. "When you're dealing with Internet crimes, jurisdiction and agency pride should not get in the way of protecting children."

In Dallas, two police investigators, a Dallas Sheriff's Department deputy and an FBI agent gathered intelligence information and prepared more than half of the cases. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Customs and 29 Internet Crimes Against Children task forces coordinated efforts to make the arrests.

As of Wednesday, 106 people had been arrested. Eleven of those arrests were made in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Fifty-two cases are pending arrests.

Among those arrested in the area:

*A former American Airlines executive who met undercover ICAC officers seeking to purchase two Hispanic girls, ages 10 and 12, to sexually abuse. Marko G. Siegel was arrested in May 2000 and charged with attempted sexual performance of a child. Mr. Siegel, a German citizen, was deported and placed on probation.

*A Rockwall junior high school teacher was arrested during a controlled delivery of child pornography. Douglas R. Johnston, 41, was contacted by ICAC officers and requested three videotapes containing child pornography. He was sentenced to seven years' probation, Dallas County court records show. Mr. Johnston is no longer working for the district.

The Dallas ICAC program was initiated in 1998 by the Missing Children's Program of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Federal funding allows officers to attend training seminars and gives them the tools and skills to investigate Internet crimes.

Internet crimes have presented new challenges for investigators because criminals can cross many jurisdictions, and the crimes rarely begin and end in the same place, investigators said.

"The Internet is a very sterile environment and has provided predators access to kids that they would never have," said Lt. Walsh. "Children are more apt to be solicited at home on their computer than at malls."

Staff writer Michelle Mittelstadt in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.