Dad Tried Blowing Up Uniondale Gov't Building Over Custody Dispute, Led $600K Fraud Scheme: DA

By Michael Mashburn From Daily Voice

A Long Island father who tried to blow up a government building in a custody-fueled revenge plot pleaded guilty to a laundry list of charges, including multiple bomb-related crimes, mortgage fraud, and identity theft.

James Luca, age 47, admitted in Nassau County Court Monday, June 2, to trying to ignite explosive devices outside the county’s Department of Social Services building in Uniondale in September 2024.

Upset and aggrieved, he blamed Nassau County Child Protective Services for revoking his visitation rights with his children, as Daily Voice previously reported.

Luca placed two propane tanks and torches at the building’s doors in the early morning hours of Sept. 17, then tried—unsuccessfully—to ignite the setup by throwing lit flares at them, surveillance footage later revealed.

Though the homemade bombs did not explode, the discovery hours later prompted an evacuation and large-scale response from the NCPD’s Arson and Bomb Squad and other emergency teams.

Luca fled the scene with a co-defendant, ditched their vehicle, and was arrested weeks later.

In court Monday, also pleaded guilty to a separate bombing incident—this one involving his ex-wife’s car in February 2023—and to running an elaborate identity theft scheme involving forged mortgages, unpaid credit cards, and more than $600,000 in debt left in a relative’s name.

Luca fraudulently obtained a $410,000 mortgage on a property he stole through forged loan paperwork and a fake deed, and opened multiple American Express accounts in a relative’s name, racking up over $200,000 in charges.

“This defendant is dangerous and unpredictable,” DA Anne Donnelly said, “instigating fear and terror in his personal life and attempting to sow that same terror when he targeted the dedicated public servants at the Nassau County Department of Social Services.”

In all, Luca pleaded guilty to 19 criminal counts, including obstructing of governmental duties by means of a bomb, grand larceny, residential mortgage fraud, and identity theft. He is expected to receive nine years in prison and five years of post-release supervision when he is sentenced in July.