An Iraq war veteran was caught amassing "a small arsenal" in his Bronx residence, including handmade improvised explosive devices [IEDs], grenades, four firearms, and several rounds of ammunition, according to an indictment unsealed yesterday. 24-year-old Anthony Cibelli served tours of duty in Iraq in 2006 and 2008, and was discharged from active duty in 2010. Prosecutors say he stole two grenades and other weapons that were the property of the United States military, and taught himself how to build the IEDs by watching instructional videos, and did not intend to use them. Hey, everyone ought to have a hobby!
On December 23rd, investigators, acting on a search warrant, searched Cibelli's home and found the grenades on the roof outside his bedroom window. Prosecutors say he later admitted that he brought the grenades back with him from Iraq, that he panicked when the police arrived at his residence to execute the search warrant, and that he then threw the grenades onto the roof outside the window of his bedroom. Cibelli admitted to concealing the grenades in a bag that he placed in a shipping container that was sent to Fort Bragg in North Carolina; he then retrieved these items at Fort Bragg, and transported them to the Bronx.
Cops had been searching the home on Stratford Avenue as part of a gang investigation when they discovered Cibell's cache. "How the explosives found in the apartment made their way from Iraq to a densely populated Bronx neighborhood is of great concern to us, and to the neighborhood residents," NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly said in a statement. And Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara adds, "This should go without saying, but military grade weapons like grenades and rifle ammunition belong on the battlefield, not in an urban center."
Cibelli's charged with theft of government property, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and one count of unlicensed transportation of explosives, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
