Alleged vandal charged with storing cyanide

CHICAGO -- A man accused of vandalizing Wisconsin power stations was charged Monday with storing deadly powdered cyanide in an underground passage that is part of Chicago's mass transit system.

Joseph Konopka allegedly took over a Chicago Transit Authority storage room under the downtown district and stored sodium cyanide and potassium cyanide there. The Federal Bureau of Investigation said he claimed to be the leader of a Wisconsin group of vandals known as the "Realm of Chaos."

Konopka, 25, formerly of De Pere, Wis., appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Edward A. Bobrick on Monday night and was ordered held pending a hearing Wednesday. He was charged with possession of a chemical weapon.

Konopka was said to be unemployed and had been living in the subway under the downtown district for several weeks. In Chicago's downtown Loop district, four CTA train lines are elevated and two others run underground.

No speculation yet

Officials told reporters after the Monday night hearing that they didn't want to speculate on why Konopka had the chemicals.

"I'm not a psychologist," Chicago police Superintendent Terry Hillard told a news conference. He said that the chemicals had posed "no immediate danger" to riders on the CTA's Blue Line, which was closed down for several hours while police and agents looked for the passage.

Asked how Konopka had been able to enter various locked rooms and buildings, Hillard said: "He is a burglar by trade. He is someone who has the equipment and skills and expertise to get into those locations."