LIVINGSTON, NJ – A Morris County, New Jersey, man today admitted maliciously calling in a bomb threat to the Temple Beth Shalom in Livingston, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
James Triano, 38, of Pompton Plains, New Jersey, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty to an indictment charging him with maliciously conveying false information about an explosive.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On March 21, 2017, Triano called Temple Beth Shalom in Livingston, New Jersey. He told a representative of that synagogue there was a bomb located in the building that would explode in 30 minutes. Triano conveyed this information about the bomb knowing that it was false. The bomb threat resulted in a substantial disruption to the synagogue and its congregation as well as to the public.
The count with which Triano has pleaded guilty is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 30, 2020.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, and officers from the Livingston Police Department, under the direction of Police Chief Gary Marshuetz, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine R. Murphy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
