Ex-math teacher sentenced in Bronx bomb-making case

NEW YORK (AP) - A math teacher who paid students to dismantle fireworks and store the explosive powder has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison.

U.S. District Judge Richard Berman in Manhattan on Wednesday sentenced Christian Toro to five years and 10 months in prison.

Toro and a brother, who is awaiting sentencing, stored a cache of dangerous materials in a Bronx apartment, prosecutors said. A student who was having sex with Toro called in a bomb threat to her school, leading authorities to find the explosive materials, the feds said.

Toro pleaded guilty in November.

His lawyer requested leniency, saying Toro has expressed "sincere shame and remorse" and is now "clean and sober and rehabilitated."

Toro, 28, has already been incarcerated 15 months.

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Statement from U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York

"Today's sentence serves as a message that building and stockpiling destructive devices are grave offenses in and of themselves. Thanks to the outstanding work of the Joint Terrorism Task Force in eliminating this destructive threat in its nascent stages, Christian Toro and his brother were apprehended before they could carry out any attack with the device they were building. Christian Toro has nevertheless received a substantial sentence for seriously endangering the public (including minor children) and inspiring fear throughout his community with his conduct."

—U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman