Doctor Found Guilty of Having Bomb-Making Materials in Ridgewood Apartment

the staff of the Ridgew0od blog

Ridgewood NJ, a jury found a physician guilty of stockpiling bomb-making materials in his Ridgewood (Bergen County) apartment. Dr. Roberto Rivera was also acquitted of a charge of creating a risk of widespread harm, while the jury was hung on two weapons charges. Authorities arrested Rivera in November 2012 after a raid of his home uncovered large amounts of materials that can be used to make bombs and instructions on how to construct homemade explosives. Two assault rifles and ammunition had also been seized. During the two-week trial, prosecutors said Rivera started researching chemicals and homemade explosives after being radicalized by the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011. Neighbors started to see an influx of packages being delivered to his door.

Bergen County Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Torre noted that writings related to a potential attack had also been found in his apartment. Authorities began investigating Rivera following a report from a neighbor about a conversation they had regarding power outages caused by Superstorm Sandy. Rivera faces up to six years in prison. Torre said the State is determining whether to retry Rivera on the weapons charges, which each carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Rivera was first tried in April, but a mistrial was declared after a juror independently received information about the case.