I'm still around. However due to the abundance of field work and the lack of qualified personnel, I'll have even less time here! Such is the life of a geologist. However, please continue to ping me as it does help me keep in touch.
5/26/2005, 9:04 p.m. ET
By JUAN A. LOZANO
The Associated Press
HOUSTON (AP) — A man accused of trying to sell a bomb to al-Qaida also wanted to help the terrorist group set off explosive devices in Washington, D.C., New York and at a Super Bowl, an FBI agent testified Thursday.
Ronald Allen Grecula, 68, of Bangor, Pa., was arrested in Houston last week during a meeting with undercover federal agents and local officers. According to authorities, Grecula believed he was meeting with members of the Russian mafia who had al-Qaida ties.
At the meeting, Grecula said he wanted to build and sell an explosive device with a force similar to a nuclear weapon to al-Qaida for use against Americans, FBI agent Shauna Dunlap testified during a court hearing.
Authorities say Grecula was angry at the government over losing custody of his children, whom he had kidnapped in November 2000. He spent about a year in prison on the kidnapping charge. His wife and kids now live in a Houston suburb.
He also told an undercover FBI agent the device should be used in Washington because it could "take out whole city blocks," Dunlap said.
Grecula also suggested that al-Qaida could use the device to blow up the Federal Reserve bank in New York, which would have been a better target than the World Trade Center during the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Dunlap said.
During Thursday's hearing, Brent Newton, a public defender who is Grecula's attorney, argued there was no cause to proceed with the case because his client only "did a lot of grandiose talking."
U.S. Magistrate Judge Calvin Botley disagreed, saying there was merit to the federal government's case. Botley ordered that Grecula be held without bond because he presented a danger to the community and to his estranged wife.
The FBI agent also testified Grecula claimed he could build a bomb from supplies purchased at a welding store. Grecula also talked with an undercover FBI agent about making a radioactive "dirty bomb" that spews hazardous material, using his device at a Super Bowl game and using remote controlled model airplanes filled with explosives to blow up bridges in the northeastern part of the country, Dunlap said.