BEDFORD, N.Y. – Two men from New Jersey are facing federal charges after allegedly leaving an explosive device in the driveway of a home owned by a business rival of one of the men, court records reveal.
The explosion occurred Thursday morning outside a home on McLain Street, causing minimal damage and no injuries. Bedford police discovered a box at the scene that had contained a gas can with firework tubing and a shipping label with the name and address of Damjan Stanivukovic, a businessman from Closter, New Jersey. Stanivukovic had a longstanding feud with the owner of the Bedford home, according to a criminal complaint.
The FBI became involved in the case and a search of Stanivukovic’s home revealed firearms, fireworks similar to those found with the explosive device, and a book titled “Make Fireworks and Explosives at Home – The Ultimate Instructional Manual for Beginners and Pyrotechnicians to Build Firecrackers, Fireworks and Explosives from Scratch.”
Stanivukovic and Vladamir Radunovic, who frequently stayed at Stanivukovic’s home, were arrested on Saturday. Both men were charged with unlawful possession of a destructive device and conspiracy to commit stalking. They are expected to appear in U.S. District Court in White Plains on Tuesday.
During the investigation, surveillance video and license plate readers showed a vehicle belonging to Stanivukovic’s company traveling from his home in New Jersey through Rockland County, over the Gov. Mario Cuomo Bridge into Westchester, up the Taconic State Parkway, and across Route 133 to Mount Kisco. The video revealed that Radunovic placed a box in the vehicle shortly after 3:30 a.m. on Thursday.
Surveillance footage at the victim’s home captured the vehicle with two men there between 5:09 and 5:13 a.m. During that time, Radunovic, who has a distinct limp, removed a box that appeared to be on fire and placed it in the driveway. The explosion occurred at 7:09 a.m.
Stanivukovic is identified as the president of Adria Industrial Piping, a heating and air conditioning company on his LinkedIn page. However, the victim identified the company as Adria Infrastructure LLC and informed the FBI of several legal disputes with Stanivukovic over a previous business relationship, according to the complaint.
A member of the conspiracy allegedly approached the victim at his business in Long Island City days before a court date in one of their lawsuits, handing him a note that read: “Be smart, do not appeal (sic) on Court on Monday. Better for everybody.”
Immediately after the explosion, the victim received a threatening text message while being interviewed by law enforcement authorities. The message read “Knock knock show up and what do you think is next. This is your final warning.”
According to the complaint, there was a court appearance in the lawsuit the previous day, but Stanivukovic and his lawyer did not attend. The text was sent from a cellphone that was in the vicinity of Adria’s business address, coinciding with the location of Stanivukovic’s own cellphone at the time, according to the complaint.
At the time of writing, it was not immediately clear who was representing the two defendants in the case.