Long Island man charged with terrorism for trying to bomb government building

NEW YORK — A Long Island man was charged with terrorism after authorities said he tried to blow up a Nassau County government building in a “terroristic revenge plot.”

James Luca, 46, North Merrick, tried to bomb the Nassau County Department of Social Services building in September, according to police. The upgraded terrorism charge was added at his arraignment on Wednesday.

“This is the first time that my office has pursued the gravely serious charge of terrorism against a defendant,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a press release.

“James Luca’s alleged actions, his plotting and his attempts to ignite an explosion at a government building where dozens of public servants work to serve our county every day, justifies this significant upgrade in charges,” she added.

Luca was going through a divorce with his wife and had lost visitation rights with his children, investigators said. To get back at the social services department, he allegedly fashioned an improvised explosive device with a 20-pound propane tank, a 1-pound propane tank and a torch on top of them.

On Sept. 17, around 1:30 a.m., Luca and an accomplice, 25-year-old Jayson Reyes, placed the device outside the social services building in Uniondale, according to investigators. He then began throwing road flares at the device, trying to ignite it, but failed and drove away from the scene.

A few hours later, county employees arriving for work spotted the device and called 911.

“We are lucky that James Luca is a lousy bomb maker,” Donnelly said Wednesday, according to Newsday.

Luca and Reyes — the latter of whom was not charged with terrorism — were first arrested in early October. At the time, the men were both charged with attempted arson and several weapons crimes. They both pleaded not guilty.