Middlesex County Acting Prosecutor Christopher L.C. Kuberiet and Chief James Parker of the South Plainfield Police Department announced that a man from South Plainfield charged on Labor Day with possession of a destructive device for an unlawful purpose has also been charged with possession of prohibited devices and tampering with evidence.
Police say Thomas G. Kaiser, 55, of South Plainfield was charged today with four counts of possession of a prohibited device in the third degree, and one count of tampering with evidence in the fourth degree.
The new charges were filed against Kaiser during an ongoing investigation by the South Plainfield Police Department which prompted the cancellation of the South Plainfield Labor Day Parade out of an abundance of caution and due to the potential threat to the community.
The continuing investigation revealed that subsequent to the initial charges, four additional destructive devices were located in the vicinity of the parade route. Kaiser disposed of these devices which were identified by the New Jersey State Police Bomb Squad as homemade destructive devices.
Police say Kaiser was previously arrested on Labor Day by the Sea Bright Police Department and charged with one count of possession of a destructive device for an unlawful purpose in the second degree and one count of possession of a destructive device in the third degree.
The investigation began in Monmouth County when a suspicious package with a destructive device was left at Donovan’s Reef in Sea Bright. An investigation by the Sea Bright Police Department and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office led to the South Plainfield residence of Thomas Kaiser.
An investigation was conducted by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, the Sea Bright Plainfield Police Department, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Department K-9 Unit, the South Plainfield Police Department, the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, the FBI, and the New Jersey State Police Bomb Squad.
The investigation is ongoing and continuing. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Craig Magnani of the South Plainfield Police Department at (908) 755-0700, Detective Daniel Chernavsky of the Sea Bright Police Department at (732) 842-0010, or Detective Shawn Murphy of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 803-5406.