NE Ohioans Arrested in Bomb Plot

(Painesville, Ohio) Two Lake County residents were arrested yesterday by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on federal explosives charges for plotting to bomb the homes of a suburban mayor, police chief and a judge.

Joseph Sands, 40, and Dawn Holin, 34, will face a federal magistrate today in Cleveland. Federal agents were alerted by Madison Township Police after a tip was received. The pair allegedly wanted to blow up the house of Painesville Municipal Judge Michael Cicconetti who was scheduled to sentence him on April 20 for a conviction of local tax evasion. In addition, pipe bombs were to be used at the homes of North Perry Mayor Thomas Williams and North Perry Police Chief Denise Mercsack.

From Yahoo:

A team of Madison Township detectives and members of the Northeast Ohio Violent Crimes Task Force received the initial information on the alleged plot and requested assistance from ATF agents assigned to the task force. They immediately began a joint undercover operation targeting Sands and Holin to gather further information about the alleged plot. The intended victims were warned by authorities and the Joint Terrorism Task Force in Cleveland was notified. The FBI offered their assistance and established an around the clock surveillance of the suspect while ATF agents continued their investigation and obtained the necessary probable cause for today's arrests.

The search by ATF and FBI agents at Sands' Meadows Road home and his business, J&B Performance in North Perry, Ohio recovered numerous firearms, smokeless powder, pipe and end caps. At the time of his arrest, Sands had just purchased a quantity of fuse, which was the last component needed to make the IED.

From News-Herald.com:

The arrests put an end to a several-day ordeal for Cicconetti and his family, who were warned of the plot as soon as law enforcement deemed the threat credible, [Madison Township Police Detective] Doyle said.

"Everybody's been absolutely scared to death," said Cicconetti, well-known for his unique sentences from behind the bench. "I have two young sons and my wife. We have been nomads here the last several days, living in secret places. It's been tough for us.

"Obviously, I'm relieved. I can't thank enough all the law enforcement that was involved in this."

Cicconetti said he's been cursed at by frustrated defendants in his courtroom and receives the occasional hang-up phone call, but in his 12 years on the bench he had never been threatened.

"You get a feeling of what it's like to be a victim," he said. "I've always felt for victims, but you really get a true understanding of being the hunted."

Williams, who knows the suspects as North Perry business owners, said the coordinated efforts of the law enforcement agencies helped give him some comfort.

"I had a cautious week," Williams said. "I listened to what they had to tell me, and I believed what they had to tell me. I had total faith in the ATF and FBI in doing their job, as well as our local police - Madison Township, North Perry. They were communicating together, and I was comfortable knowing that."

Attempts on Sunday to reach Mercsak, who is also a police lieutenant in Painesville, were unsuccessful.

Sands owns an auto repair shop in North Perry, about 35 miles northeast of Cleveland. Sands and Holin live together in nearby Madison.