James Triano, 38, of Pompton Plains, pleaded guilty via videoconference to "maliciously conveying false information about an explosive" in exchange for leniency at a scheduled Sept. 30 sentencing in U.S. District Court in Newark.
Triano was charged with calling Temple Beth Shalom on Mount Pleasant Avenue in Livington on March 21, 2017 and saying that a bomb there would explode in a half hour.
The "malicious" threat caused a "substantial disruption to the religious institution, as well as to the public," U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Essex County Sheriff's K9s swept the building and didn't find anything harmful, authorities said at the time.
Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI and the Livingston Police Department with the investigation leading to Tuesday's guilty plea, secured by Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine R. Murphy of his Criminal Division in Newark.
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