by Steve Wiandt and Thomas J. Sheeran
Reporter, Associated Press Writer
Cuyahoga Falls — A Cuyahoga Falls man is in federal custody following an explosion in his apartment.
Mark A. Campano was charged with violations of federal firearms and explosives statutes, said Kim Riddell, special agent for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Campano was charged with one count of unlawful possession of a pipe bomb, according to assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Edwards. Campano on Nov. 25 appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Benita Pearson, waived a preliminary hearing and was held on the charge by federal marshals.
The charge carries a possible penalty of 10 years in prison, Edwards said.
Donald Hicks, the attorney appointed to represent Campano, said after the court hearing that it was too early to comment on the case.
While responding to what was believed to be a clandestine drug lab explosion in an apartment in the 700 block of Center Avenue Nov. 23, police instead found a clandestine bomb lab.
Campano, 56, who lives in the apartment, was taken to Akron General Hospital with injuries following an explosion that occurred around 8 p.m., said Sgt. Perry Tabak of the Cuyahoga Falls Police Narcotics Unit.
Campano told an officer that he was attempting to load shotgun shells when one blew up in his hands, according to a police report. He was taken to the hospital with severe injuries to his left hand and arm and taken into custody after he was released from the hospital Nov. 25.
An affidavit filed in federal court in Akron said Campano, a former anesthesiologist, told an FBI agent that he “did indeed” build the pipe bombs found at his Cuyahoga Falls apartment.
Neither Campano nor the FBI agent who talked to him described a motive or possible target in the affidavit, which was filed Nov. 25.
The fire ignited by the explosion on Nov. 23 was small, said Cuyahoga Falls Fire Chief Paul Moledor, but it seemed to “self-extinguish” and was already out by the time firefighters arrived. Damage which included a broken window was minor, Moledor said. A damage estimate was not available at press time. The apartment is on the first floor.
The other 30 units in the apartment building were evacuated because of the possible presence of dangerous chemicals, said Tabak, who noted no one else in the building was injured.
Tabak said he was called because while police and fire crews were inside the apartment to rescue Campano, they saw what appeared to be the components of a clandestine drug lab. “Some of the components used to manufacture bombs are also used to manufacture methamphetamine,” he said.
Having been told they would be entering a meth lab full of toxic chemicals, Tabak said he and another officer donned protective suits and breathing masks and went into the apartment to “basically make the place safe and give an assessment of what needed to be done.”
While walking through the apartment, Tabak said, they found 35 finished pipe bombs and many more in various incomplete stages, 17 rifles and pistols, and “hundreds and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.” A .38-caliber handgun equipped with a homemade silencer was also found, Tabak said, adding that gun silencers are illegal without a special permit.
Tabak said the crews who first responded did not see all of these things because they were concentrating on treating the man inside and taking him to the hospital.
The Summit County Bomb Squad and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, also known as ATF, were called in to assist Falls Police, Tabak said.
“We are conducting an investigation into all the circumstances surrounding the items that were recovered,” said Riddell.
This case is a joint investigation of the ATF, FBI, Cuyahoga Falls Police Department and Summit County Sheriff’s Office, said Riddell.
Citing a history of drug dependency, the Medical Board of Ohio removed Campano’s license in 2006. The board said in its decision that his continued practice of medicine would be a danger of immediate and serious harm to the public.
Editor’s note: Associated Press Writer John Seewer in Toledo contributed to this report.
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