(The BATF and feds were also present in force, cordoning off a mile square area in the Mission, but that little fact apparently didn't make it to AP ... ) Repairman Arrested for Explosives SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A utility repairman was in custody Friday after authorities discovered bomb materials, including 250 pounds of ammonium nitrate, the same ingredient used in the Oklahoma City bombing, at his workplace. Paul Joseph Madronich Jr., 44, enjoyed making small explosives and fireworks and did not appear to have a political agenda, according to investigators. Police believe he was using the material for small explosives such as cherry bombs and M-80s that he sold to co-workers. The 19-year Pacific Gas & Electric Co. employee was being held Friday on $1 million bail on three counts of possessing an explosive device. The materials were discovered Thursday in a locker at a PG&E warehouse. Police and fire officials evacuated 75 people from the building and a facility across the street, concerned that the ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer, had been mixed with volatile substances and might explode. Inside another locker police found a 33-gallon drum of calcium nitrate along with books on bomb making, broken flares, electronic devices and a ``small quantity of actual, ready-to-go explosives,'' police spokesman Sherman Ackerson said. ``Basically, (Madronich) was set up to make bombs,'' Ackerson said. ``If activated as an explosive, it would have destroyed a good portion of the building it was found in.'' After he was booked, Madronich led officers to ``a whole bunch more bomb- making stuff,'' at a second PG&E facility, Ackerson said. Authorities also carted off boxes of material from Madronich's home. Assistant District Attorney Jean Daly said Madronich appeared to be motivated by profit rather than politics, selling his small explosives to co-workers who nicknamed him ``the Unabomber.'' ``He appears to be a loner,'' she said. Madronich, who lived with his parents, was described by neighbors as a polite, well-behaved man. He has no known criminal record, according to police. Madronich could face additional charges in federal court if it is determined the ammonium nitrate was to be used for an illegal purpose -- such as explosives. The charges Madronich faces are not linked to the ammonium nitrate, which is not against the law to possess. Ammonium nitrate was the principal ingredient in the bomb that destroyed the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995, killing 168 people.
