By: Richard L. Smith
A 44-year-old Pennsylvania man has admitted to transporting and detonating an improvised explosive device beneath a vehicle parked at his former supervisor’s home in Burlington County, federal authorities announced.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, Michael Patrick Takacs Jr., of Warminster, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Karen M. Williams in Camden federal court to transporting an explosive device with the intent to intimidate an individual and unlawfully damage property.
Federal prosecutors said Takacs carried out the act months after being terminated from his job in 
April 2025.
Investigators said Takacs allegedly manufactured an improvised explosive device, commonly known as an IED, using explosive chemicals and a remote pyrotechnic device he purchased himself.
Authorities said the device was packed with shrapnel, including nails.
According to court documents, during the early morning hours of July 26, 2025, Takacs drove from Pennsylvania to his former supervisor’s residence in Delran and placed the explosive device beneath a vehicle parked in the driveway.
Officials said Takacs attempted to conceal his identity during the incident by removing the license plate from his vehicle, leaving his cellphone at home, and wearing a mask.
Authorities said he then remotely detonated the device in an effort to intimidate his former supervisor and destroy the vehicle.
The charge carries a maximum possible sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Sentencing is scheduled for October 8, 2026.