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Watervliet Man Sentenced for Manufacturing Explosive Materials

U.S. Attorney's Office February 04, 2010
  • Northern District of New York (315) 448-0672

ALBANY, NY—United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and John F. Pikus, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Albany Division, announced that AARON SCORSONE, age 19, of Watervliet, New York, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence E. Kahn to serve 31 months in federal prison, after which he must serve three years of supervised release. The sentence was imposed following SCORSONE’S April 15, 2009 guilty plea in which he admitted participating in a conspiracy to manufacture and deal explosive materials in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 371, 842(a) and 844; as well as a conspiracy to possess and transfer destructive devices without complying with applicable Treasury Department regulations in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Sections 5811, 5812, 5861(e) and 5871.

In connection with his plea, SCORSONE admitted the following:

On one occasion in late September, 2008, and on another separate occasion in mid-November, 2008, he and Jonathan Plunkett agreed to sell four home-made explosive devices to an informant. The devices were obtained from between 40 to 50 home-made explosive devices (without fragmentation) that Scorsone had previously purchased from Scott A. Monroe. The sale price for the first explosive device was $10.00 and the three additional explosive devices were sold for $30.00 each.

On one occasion in early October, 2008, and on another separate occasion in late October, 2008, Jonathan Plunkett and SCORSONE agreed to sell eight additional home-made explosive devices to the informant. These eight devices were composed of the same materials and components as the device previously sold to the informant, however, these devices also contained hundreds of metal BBs fastened by glue to the exterior of the devices, thereby constituting fragmentation. The sale price for the explosive devices with fragmentation was set at $30.00 per device.

The following agencies provided significant assistance to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force during the course of the investigation: The NYPD Intelligence Division - Operation Sentry, the United States Secret Service, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the New York State Police, the Troy Police Department, the Watervliet Police Department, the Albany Police Department, the North Greenbush Police Department, the Schenectady County District Attorney’s Office, and the Colonie Police Department.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rick Belliss, who can be reached at (518) 431-0247.

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