Man convicted of 2006 pipe bombing at Hinsdale train station

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A man was convicted Monday of setting off a pipe bomb at a Metra station in Hinsdale in 2006, injuring a station agent.

Thomas Zajac, 70, was accused of placing a pipe bomb in a trash can at the BNSF Railway station in Hinsdale on Sept. 1, 2006. Federal prosecutors said the bomb went off during the morning commute, damaging the station and injuring an employee inside.

A month later, Zajac sent an anonymous letter to Hinsdale police, claiming he had "fired a warning shot" and that police actions would "likely eventually lead to the death" of at least one person in Hinsdale. Prosecutors claimed Zajac felt disrespected when Hinsdale police arrested his relative in 2005.

On Monday, a federal jury convicted Zajac of attempting to destroy property with an explosive device, one count of possessing an unregistered destructive device, and one count of willfully making a threat through the mail to kill or injure a person with an explosive device.

Zajac faces a sentence of 5 years to 20 years in prison for the property destruction count and up to 10 years for the other two counts.

Sentencing has been scheduled for Dec. 13.

Zajac was already serving a 35-year prison sentence for a bombing at the Salt Lake City Public Library just two weeks after his attack on the Hinsdale train station.

Federal investigators said Zajac set off a pipe bomb on the third floor of the Salt Lake City Main Library on Sept. 15, 2006. No one was killed or injured, but the blast caused several thousand dollars' worth of damage to the library.

Prosecutors said Zajac later sent letters to law enforcement, bragging about the bombing, and claiming the next bomb "would be larger, designed to kill, and placed in a crowded public place."

Zajac has been in custody since his arrest in November 2006.