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Christian Toro, the former teacher, and his brother Tyler Toro,
both 28, were arrested in February and charged with stockpiling
materials for making bombs in their shared apartment in the
city's Bronx borough. They pleaded guilty to charges of
manufacturing and possessing a destructive device conspiracy
before U.S. District Judge Richard Berman in Manhattan,
according to the office of U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman.
Amy Gallicchio, a lawyer for Christian Toro, and Bryan Konoski,
a lawyer for Tyler Toro, could not immediately be reached for
comment.
In a criminal complaint filed at the time of the brothers'
arrest, prosecutors said law enforcement agents who searched
their apartment found explosive substances and a backpack with
an index card reading, "Under the full moon the small ones will
know terror."
Agents also found a book that appeared to be a diary with Tyler
Toro's name on it, with a line saying, "WE ARE TWIN TOROS STRIKE
US NOW, WE WILL RETURN WITH NANO THERMITE,” the complaint said.
Christian Toro was a teacher at a high school in Manhattan's
Harlem neighborhood before resigning last year. Following the
resignation, Tyler Toro returned to the school a computer that
had been provided to his brother, and staff found instructions
on it for building explosive devices, according to the
complaint.
Investigators said Christian Toro told them he had found the
document while researching the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and
never read it or had built a bomb, according to the complaint.
About a week later, investigators interviewed students at the
school who indicated that at least two students there had been
paid about $50 an hour to break apart fireworks and store powder
for the two men, the criminal complaint said.
(Reporting by Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Leslie
Adler)
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