Loyalist paramilitary boss Jim Fulton was jailed for 28 years today for running a terrorist campaign.
Fulton's sectarian reign of bombings and shootings, which included the murder of a Catholic grandmother and an attempt to kill four police officers, was brought to an end after he confessed to undercover detectives.
Fulton (38), who headed the LVF in Portadown, Co Armagh, grinned as Mr Justice Hart passed sentence on 48 offences he was convicted of.
These included ordering terrorists to pipe bomb the home of Elizabeth O'Neill (59) who was killed in an explosion at her house in Portadown after she picked up a device thrown into her home in June 1999.
The murder was carried out amid intense sectarian tensions over the disputed Drumcree Orange Order parade.
A year earlier four RUC officers were injured when Fulton threw a blast bomb at them at the scene of the contested march. Two of the officer have still not returned to duty.
The LVF chief was also convicted of possession of the gun used to murder a Catholic taxi driver, hijackings and a drugs operation involving the importation of up to 50 kilograms of cannabis a week.
The judge read out transcripts which revealed how Fulton, who was trapped in an undercover operation, admitted his role in attacks.
PA