Law enforcementExplosives found in NYC apartment of upscale couple
An apartment on Wet Ninth Street in New York, where Morgan Gliedman, 27, the daughter of a New York City physician, and her boyfriend, Aaron Greene, 31, son of the president of an acclaimed artwork-restoration business, live, was searched by police on Monday after a tip from a visitor to the apartment; the police discovered explosive ingredients, weapons, and bomb-making manuals; some described Greene as an “Occupy Wall Street activist,” but the police said they did not believe that Greene was active in any political movement, describing the couple as “admitted heroin addicts”
Morgan Gliedman (left) and Aaron Greene // Source: Composite HSNW
An apartment on Wet Ninth Street in New York, where Morgan Gliedman, 27, the daughter of a New York City physician, and her boyfriend, Aaron Greene, 31, son of the president of an acclaimed artwork-restoration business, live, was searched by police on Monday. The police, acting on a tip, found what appeared to be ingredients for a bomb, as well as weapon-making manuals.
The New York Times reports that the police seized seven grams of a chemical called hexamethylene triperoxide diamine, or HMTD, an explosive. The building was evacuated as a precaution.
“This is a serious explosive used in terrorists’ attacks previously,” Paul Browne, the Police Department’s chief spokesman, said. “We have not yet determined why Greene had them in his possession.”
Greene and Gliedman were charged with criminal possession of a loaded firearm and criminal possession of an explosive substance.
The New York Post describes Greene as an “Occupy Wall Street activist,” but the police said they did not believe that Greene was active in any political movements.
Browne said that Greene and Gliedman are “admitted heroin addicts.”
Investigators found the explosive powder in a plastic container. In a bedroom, they discovered a sawed-off, 12-gauge Mossberg 500 shotgun, a 12-gauge Ruger over-under shotgun, and sixty shotgun shells. The Times notes that investigators also found a flare launcher, described by the police as “a commercially available replica of a M203 grenade launcher,” four flares, and nine high-capacity rifle magazines, according to Mr. Browne and a criminal complaint filed by the Manhattan district attorney.
The apartment also contained stacks of literature, including several U.S. Army field manuals and do-it-yourself instructions for making bombs, booby traps and deadly homemade weapons.
“It’s an ongoing investigation that aroused our concerns, obviously, because of the weapons, including the explosives, and the material found in the apartment, including these handbooks involving weapons of mass killing,” Browne said. “What it means is still unknown.”
“We haven’t made a connection to any known plot or any connection to any known terrorists,” Browne said.
While the police was searching the apartment, Gliedman, who was 9-months pregnant, was at a hospital giving birth.
