Police: Man arrested in Mt. Lebanon had 30 improvised bombs, detonators in car

Megan Guza | Friday, July 10, 2020 12:25 p.m.

Metro Creative

A man arrested Thursday night in Mt. Lebanon in connection with online threats had more than 30 improvised bombs in his Mercedes along with homemade detonators and chemicals used to make explosives, investigators said in a criminal complaint.

Kurt James Cofano, 32, of Whitehall, faces felony charges related to weapons of mass destruction and explosive devices along with lesser drug charges.

Mt. Lebanon police Officer Thomas Rutowski wrote in the criminal complaint against Cofano that his department had been asked to be on the lookout for Cofano and his white Mercedes-Benz by Whitehall police, who were searching for Cofano in connection with a mental health warrant.

Cofano had posted videos to social media that showed him making and detonating improvised explosives, according to Whitehall police. He also posted threats to “blow up” the Treasury Department in Harrisburg and “go to the CIA headquarters in (Washington) D.C. and take out as many (expletives) as I can before I get gunned down.”

Cofano also allegedly posted that he had “several life sentences in the trunk of my car,” according to the complaint.

Rutkowski said he and several other offices spotted Cofano’s car on Washington Road and pulled him over. Cofano surrendered and said there were guns and supplies to make “M-80 type fireworks,” according to the complaint.

The Allegheny County bomb squad responded and found a bag of suspected ammonium nitrate and urea nitrate, which police said are used in making explosive devices. In a backpack in the backseat of the Mercedes, police found two remote detonators, one of which was made up of homemade wiring and a key fob.

They also found a Tupperware container labeled “remote detonator.”

Authorities said they found homemade grenade tubes and modified training grenades and a small amount of suspected marijuana.

Court records detailing the charges against Cofano did not indicate whether he was in the Allegheny County Jail, nor did they list an attorney.

County police, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are also investigating.