CHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago bus mechanic is facing federal charges for allegedly selling homemade explosives to an undercover federal agent.
A spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says 34-year-old John Hegarty was arrested Wednesday on a charge of distributing an explosive device in furtherance of a federal crime of violence. He was released on a $10,000 recognizance bond.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports that (bit.ly/1oO7YXJ ) the Chicago Transit Authority employee allegedly sold about 700 “flash powder” devices to an ATF agent between August 2012 and May 2014 — even after the agent said he planned to blow up a car and a restaurant.
ATF spokesman Tom Ahern says Hegarty admitted to manufacturing the explosives in the garage of a home he shares with his parents.
