CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio – Following a pipe bomb explosion Monday night, police and federal law enforcement officials are trying to figure why a Center Avenue man turned his apartment into a bomb factory.
Police said no charges have been filed against Mark Campano, 56. Police found 30 completed pipe bombs in his apartment along with components to make more, plus 17 guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
Campano is in an Akron hospital with injuries received when one of the bombs exploded.
As police and federal authorities puzzle over Campano's past and what he planned to do with the bombs, a former neighbor said Campano often railed against the government.
Barbara Vachon lived next door to Campano at the Center Park Place Apartments for several years and said he was a big reason she moved.
"He was always trying to get me and another neighbor to listen to anti-government tapes and watch anti-government videos," said Vachon. "I would never watch them. He was some kind of radical, and he didn't believe in the government."
She said there were other warnings.
"There were a few times I heard minor explosions from outside the apartment building, and he would scream that he had hurt himself," she said. "I never knew what he was up to."
Vachon said Campano seemed to be most active at night.
"There was a steady stream of creepy visitors going in and out of his apartment," she said.
The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms is also investigating the case.
"We don't know what his intention was, but what he had in that apartment could cause real damage," said Cuyahoga Falls Sgt. Gary Merton Jr. "We expected to find a meth lab after we heard about the explosion, but our guys were surprised at what they found."
Police evacuated all 30 apartment units. Damage was limited to Campano's apartment.
Campano was reported in good condition today in Akron General Medical Center with injuries to a hand. He could not be reached for comment.
Campano is a former anesthesiologist who lost his medical license in 2005 because of an addiction to the drug clonidine, according to state records. He had similar problems with the drug as far back as 1994 when he was cited by the West Virginia Board of Medicine.
Before moving to Cuyahoga Falls, Campano lived in Dover, Ohio; South Charleston, W. Va.; Cleveland Heights; Dayton and Miami, Fla.
ATF officials were reluctant to discuss the case.
"Analysts are trying to determine the strength and explosive capacity of the pipe bombs found," said spokesman Kim Riddell. "Pipe bombs can be very dangerous. The explosive powder used to create them can be deadly."