MADISON, Wis., July 14 (UPI) -- A Madison, Wis., man faces criminal charges after he allegedly posted an ad on Craigslist.com seeking someone to build him a bomb, police said.
Officials said 76-year-old Jansson S. Wheeler, who is blind, planned to send the bomb to a Montana man involved with Wheeler's estranged wife, the Madison Wisconsin State Journal reported Tuesday.
A search warrant said Wheeler, a former city alderman, a retired state attorney and the husband of retired Dane County Superintendent Dorothy Wheeler, posted his ad on Craigslist May 10 with the help of an assisted living aide.
Wheeler was arrested Monday when authorities who had answered his post went to his home to deliver a fake bomb, Madison said.
Wheeler was jailed on a charge of attempting to possess explosives. Deputy District Attorney Judy Schwaemle told the Journal Wheeler could be charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide.
"My concern is that Mr. Wheeler is not deterred by the fact that he's been arrested here," Schwaemle said during a bail hearing. Bail was set at $30,000.
Court documents indicted Special Agent Mike Aalto of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives tried to contact the person who posted the Craigslist ad. On May 30 Aalto received a voice mail from someone calling himself "Hal" saying he wanted a "lethal" device built using a metal toolbox or tackle box to encase shrapnel. "Hal" was short for Harold Smith, the name Wheeler used in setting up e-mail and Craigslist accounts, the warrant said. The assisted living aide who helped him called police after she left his home.
