Ponzi suspect linked to bombs stays in jail
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered a suspect in a $2 million Ponzi scheme, who has been linked to pipe bombs found in a Malvern storage locker, to remain in custody. At a detention hearing, Judge Robert F. Kelly cited bail violations against Istvan Merchenthaler, 42, "and other factors."
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered a suspect in a $2 million Ponzi scheme, who has been linked to pipe bombs found in a Malvern storage locker, to remain in custody. At a detention hearing, Judge Robert F. Kelly cited bail violations against Istvan Merchenthaler, 42, "and other factors."
A new indictment against Merchenthaler, of Chester County, was filed in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia last week on the day that 60 pipe bombs were found in a Lancaster Avenue storage locker he had rented.
The bombs were not mentioned during the brief hearing, and authorities have not confirmed that the devices, made from 12-inch-long sections of PVC piping, belonged to Merchenthaler.
Appearing in court in an olive-green prison jumpsuit, Merchenthaler entered a not-guilty plea to charges in the new indictment, which include wire fraud and money-laundering. - Emily Babay