Suicide note, bombs found in Weymouth apartment, prosecutor says

March 18, 2008 02:32 PM Email| Comments (0)| Text size – +

By John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

WEYMOUTH -- When police raided Peter J. Cantelli’s apartment Monday evening and found a cache of guns and crude bombs, there was so much natural gas in the air there was fear it would ignite, a prosecutor said today in Quincy District Court. The discovery forced the evacuation of a portion of the 300-unit apartment complex on Avalon Drive.

Cantelli, 48, had a pistol strapped to his waist and another loaded handgun was in reach, according to prosecutor Jason Mohan. Bomb-making material was in plain view. In a nylon backpack, officers found 2 pounds of military-grade gunpowder connected to a fuse and surrounded with roofing nails designed to act as shrapnel, Mohan said. There was an M4 military-style machine gun, the prosecutor said at Cantelli’s arraignment, three inert grenades, several pieces of dynamite, and $23,000 in cash, and a suicide note. Police did not disclose the contents of the letter.

Cantelli was brought into court this afternoon in a wheelchair. He needs to be hooked up to an oxygen tank 24 hours a day and suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and acid reflux, said his defense lawyer, Robert Tutino.

Judge Mark S. Coven ordered Cantelli to be held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing, which is scheduled for Wednesday. The judge rejected Tutino’s argument that his client should be released due to medical reasons.

Police arrested Cantelli on Monday evening on charges that included six counts of possession of an infernal machine, possession of a bomb or explosives, and improper storage of a machine gun.

A constable had gone with the gas company to shut off Cantelli’s gas on Sunday, but he was uncooperative, said Captain Brian Callahan of the Weymouth Police Department. Police came to the apartment Monday and he was increasingly aggressive, Callahan said.

“He was acting in a manner that would alarm police,” Callahan said. “I wouldn’t call it threatening, but he was agitated.”

Police said they discovered several devices in the apartment that appeared to be explosives. The State Police bomb squad X-rayed several items and found seven bombs, Callahan said.

Cantelli has a permit for the machine gun, but the weapon did not have a trigger lock, which meant that it was being stored improperly, Callahan said.