Robert J. Goldstein had enough explosives that had just one gone off it would have obliterated the townhouse complex where this terrorist lives. He should be detained like Ashcroft would detain any other terrorist. Here's what he planned to do with the arsenal he had:
Dr. Robert J. Goldstein, 37, was charged with possession of a non-registered destructive device and attempting to use an explosive to damage and destroy Islamic centers.
During a search of his Seminole home, deputies found a typed list of approximately 50 Islamic worship centers in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area and elsewhere in the state.
They also found detailed plans for destroying an Islamic education center with the use of bombs. The location of the Islamic education center targeted was not disclosed.
"It looks like this guy was going to target some Islamic mosques," Pinellas County Sheriff's Detective Cal Dennie said. "He had a list of what he wanted to target and the directions on how to get there."
Suspect’s Wife Notified Police
Residents were evacuated overnight from the townhome complex after Goldstein's wife, Kristi, had called police, saying her husband was acting unstable.
Kristi Goldstein said her husband had threatened to kill her, according to an affidavit by ATF Special Agent James Booth. After half an hour, police talked Robert Goldstein out of the home and he was placed in custody under the Baker Act, which allows involuntary commitment for analysis.
Detective Cal Dennie said today that police found a cache of up to 40 weapons, including .50-caliber machine guns and sniper rifles.
"You have to have a special license to get this stuff and he does," said Dennie, who said Goldstein had no criminal record.
House Full of Explosives, Manuals
But he also had more than 30 explosive devices, including hand grenades and a 5-gallon gasoline bomb with a timer and a wire attached, Dennie said.
"It's a number of destructive devices he had, pretty sophisticated stuff," he said. "He had an elaborate system, with video cameras and everything."
Deputies also found five or six rectangular packages with timers on them.
The Hillsborough County bomb squad from Tampa and federal bomb experts were called to the scene, and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms officially took over the case.
"He had books on how to make bombs and he was using VCR tapes and walkie-talkies as a means to explode bombs," Dennie said.
Townhouse Complex Could Have Been Destroyed
The 25 to 30 residents who were displaced were allowed back after police opened a safe thought to have contained explosives. There were only more guns in the safe, said Special Agent Carlos Baixauli with the ATF Tampa field division.
"If one of those bombs were to have gone off, that townhouse would have been destroyed," Baixauli said. "If the others exploded, we would have lost most of that townhouse complex."
Baixauli said investigators pulled out of the home once they cleared it of the weapons.
Dennie said that Goldstein's wife cooperated with investigators; neither Dennie nor Baixauli would divulge what she said.
Goldstein had not missed work recently, Dennie said.
A message left at Goldstein's medical office was not immediately returned today. Goldstein's home does not have a listed phone number.
Dennie said he did not know if Goldstein is Jewish and other officials would not comment or did not return phone calls.
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