Whitehall man who threatened to blow up government buildings gets federal prison time

A former Whitehall man who made online threats to use homemade bombs to blow up government buildings in Harrisburg and Washington has been sentenced to more than five years in federal prison.

Kurt Cofano, 34, pleaded guilty in July to three of the five counts brought against him by a grand jury indictment, Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen Kaufman said Wednesday. Authorities arrested him in July 2020.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge William S. Stickman IV sentenced Cofano to five years and four months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

Cofano could have been sentenced to up to 10 years in prison and fined up to $250,000, according to authorities.

Cofano, who had been wanted by Whitehall police on a mental health warrant, was caught with dozens of guns and homemade bombs in his car and at his home — including 14 grenades, nine M-80-type homemade firecrackers and a rocket launcher.

According to a criminal complaint filed in the case, Cofano had said online that he wanted to “blow up” the Treasury Department in Harrisburg and “go to the CIA headquarters in (Washington) DC and take out as many (expletives) as I can before I get gunned down.”

On July 9, 2020, Mt. Lebanon police officers pulled over Cofano in his white Mercedes-Benz. Authorities said there were guns in the car along with supplies to make “M-80-type fireworks.”

Investigators found chemicals used for making explosives, homemade explosives, homemade detonators, homemade grenade tubes, modified training grenades and marijuana.

“(Cofano) was in possession of very dangerous weapons and appeared intent to use them,” said Matthew Varisco, special agent in charge of ATF’s Philadelphia Field Division. “This type of behavior places our entire community in danger.”

Following Cofano’s arrest, Mike Christman, the special agent in charge at the FBI’s Pittsburgh office, called Cofano “a very real threat.”

“A mix of unstable, homemade manufactured explosives, large amounts of ammo and a person who has already made threats to inflict harm is an extremely dangerous combination,” Christman said.

Mt. Lebanon police originally charged Cofano with having weapons of mass destruction, possession of explosives, prohibited offensive weapons and other weapons charges. Whitehall police followed by filing charges of risking a catastrophe, weapons of mass destruction, possession of an explosive and making terroristic threats.