Man indicted in 2006 Hinsdale Metra station bombing

A federal grand jury has indicted a former Oakbrook Terrace man for a 2006 pipe-bomb explosion at the Hinsdale Metra station.

Thomas Zajac, 56, has been the primary suspect in the case since being arrested later that year in Utah for allegedly being involved in a pipe-bomb incident at a library. He remains in federal custody in Utah with charges pending in that case.

The grand jury on Thursday returned a four-count indictment in the Hinsdale bombing. Zajac was charged with damaging and attempting to damage a building by means of an explosion, using a destructive device while committing another violent crime, possessing an unregistered destructive device, and threatening to kill, injure and intimidate individuals and damage property by means of explosion, through a warning letter sent to the Hinsdale police chief.

Using a destructive device while committing a violent crime carries a minimum sentence of 30 years and a maximum of life in prison, and damaging a building with an explosive device calls for a sentence of five to 20 years. The other two counts have a maximum of 10 years. All carry a maximum fine of $250,000.

The indictment did not suggest a motive.

Zajac will be arraigned in Chicago in about a month.

The explosion caused no injuries, but significant damage to the Metra ticketing building.