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Among various other items, Thomas Petronglo, 63, of Vineland had a 5¾-inch diameter metal can filled with potassium perchlorate and aluminum with a fuse sticking out, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said Thursday.
The mixture is commonly used in commercial fireworks displays.
Honig said authorities seized several other improvised devices -- mostly plastic cylinders and cardboard tubes containing "explosive mixtures" that were wrapped in black electrical tape with fuses attached.
They also found "numerous materials used to manufacture destructive devices, including precursor chemicals, hobby fuse, time fuse, the explosive making materials such as the cardboard tubing, and black plastic cylinders," she said.
Honig credited special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Newark; Vineland police, the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office and New Jersey State Police with the investigation leading to the charges.
Petronglo was scheduled for a first appearance via videoconference Thursday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jessica S. Allen in Newark.
An indictment returned by a federal grand jury charges him with unlawful possession of a destructive device, unlawful making of a destructive device, and unlawful storage of explosive materials.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Dean C. Sovolos of Honig's National Security Unit secured the indictment and is handling the case for the government.
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