A North Merrick man pleaded guilty on Monday, June 2, to multiple charges for plotting to bomb the Nassau County Department of Social Services building in September, according to Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly.
James Luca, 47, entered a guilty plea to charges of criminal possession of a weapon and obstructing governmental duties by means of a bomb, destructive device, explosive, or hazardous substance to satisfy the indictment charging him with the attempted bombing of the building.
In separate pending cases, Luca pleaded guilty to another count of criminal possession of a weapon, grand larceny, residential mortgage fraud, residential mortgage fraud, forgery, criminal possession of a forged instrument, identity theft and scheme to defraud.
Luca is expected to be sentenced to nine years in prison and five years post-release supervision when he is back in court on July 8, according to the DA.
Donnelly said that on Sept. 17, 2024, at about 1:42 a.m., the defendant left his home on Van Nostrand Avenue in North Merrick and met up with Jayson Anthony Reyes on Warren Street. They then drove to 60 Charles Lindberg Blvd., where the Nassau County Department of Social Services is located, Donnelly said.
Luca placed one 20-pound propane tank and another one-pound camping propane tank at the doors of the building with a torch on top of the tanks, the DA said.
Surveillance video recovered from the scene showed Luca attempting to throw lit flares at the homemade device to ignite it, but the device did not ignite, the DA said.
Luca and Reyesthen drove to East Meadow, where they abandoned the car and entered a different car that was left on the street earlier that morning, before driving back to Luca’s house, according to Donnelly.
The device was discovered later that morning by the Nassau County Department of Social Services Director of Investigations, which immediately alerted police, Donnelly said.
Luca and Reyesthen were arrested on Oct. 3, 2024, by detectives of the Nassau County Police Department, the DA said.
Previous reports said according to prosecutors, the attempted bombing came after the agency revoked Luca’s visitation rights with his children.
Luca also pleaded guilty on Monday to placing an explosive device on his ex-wife’s car at her home in North Merrick and detonating it, shattering her windshield in February 2023 and causing damage to her vehicle on another occasion in January 2024, according to Donnelly.
Additionally, Luca pleaded guilty to a residential mortgage fraud scheme and an identity theft scam, in which he stole property from a relative by forging loan paperwork and a deed, the DA said.
Once he fraudulently changed the home’s ownership, Luca obtained a $410,000 mortgage on the property, according to the DA. Both the forged loan and the fraudulently obtained mortgage went into foreclosure due to nonpayment, leaving the relative with more than $600,000 in debt, Donnelly said.
Luca also opened American Express personal and business credit cards using the same relative’s personal information and ran up more than $200,000 in unpaid debt, Donnelly said.
He pleaded guilty to another scam in which he pretended to be a different relative and used that relative’s personal information and credit to turn on PSEG Long Island service at three properties in East Meadow, including his own residence, Donnelly said.
