10 Most Wanted Fugitives: FBI adds alleged child pornographer

Eric Justin Toth, a former private school teacher accused of possessing and producing child pornography, has been placed on the FBI’s list of Ten Most Wanted fugitives, filling a spot once held by the likes of terrorist Osama bin Laden and accused mobster Whitey Bulger, the government announced on Tuesday.

Toth, who also uses the name David Bussone, has been on the run since warrants for his arrest were issued in Maryland and the District of Columbia in 2008. There is a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading directly to Toth’s arrest, the agency said.

“We have always counted on the public’s support to help capture fugitives and solve cases,” Mike Kortan, assistant director of the Office of Public Affairs, said in the statement. “The addition of Eric Toth to the Top Ten list illustrates how important it is to get this individual off the streets and into custody.”

Toth becomes the 495th person to be put on the most-wanted list, which was created in 1950. The FBI says that 465 of those fugitives have been found, 153 of them as a result of help from the public.

Toth was indicted in December 2008 after pornographic images were found on a school camera that Toth had used for some time. Because the indictment is under seal, it’s not publicly known how many children he has allegedly abused.

Investigators believe that Toth was in Arizona in 2009 and has traveled through Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Minnesota. He is 30 years old, 6’3” and weighs about 155 pounds. He has brown hair, green eyes and a medium complexion. He has a mole under his left eye, according to the FBI.

Toth attended Cornell University for a year, then transferred to Purdue University, where he earned an education degree. He is described as a computer expert and is believed to regularly use the Internet and social networking websites. He may advertise online as a tutor or male nanny, the FBI said.

Toth becomes the ninth person on the current Top 10 list. Bin Laden dropped off the list when he was killed in a Navy Seal raid last May; and Bulger is labeled as “captured.”

The alleged mobster was apprehended in June 2011, in Santa Monica and is in custody in Massachusetts.

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michael.muskal@latimes.com