(WBBM NEWSRADIO) – A man already serving decades behind bars for bombing a library in Salt Lake City was sentenced Friday to 20 years in federal prison for detonating an explosive at a Hinsdale rail station nearly two decades ago.
A jury last year convicted 70-year-old Thomas James Zajac of three criminal counts. Prosecutors say the former Oakbrook Terrace resident placed a pipe bomb in a trash can at the BNSF Railway station in September 2006. The device exploded during the morning commute and injured a station agent.
Evidence at Zajac’s trial indicated he held a grudge against Hinsdale police after they arrested a family member in 2005. Zajac allegedly sent an anonymous letter to police saying they had “[expletive] with” the wrong person.
A federal judge on Friday handed down the 20-year sentence, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago said. The sentence must be served after Zajac finishes serving a 35-year sentence for his conviction on charges of bombing a public library in Salt Lake City in 2006.
No further information was immediately available.
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