Wednesday, March 12, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
The Secret Service in Las Vegas arrested two New Jersey men after they allegedly passed phony $20 bills in a casino.
The men gave agents permission to search their property, which included a defunct fruit-packing plant in Washington Township, N.J., where several explosive devices were found Monday night, according to authorities in New Jersey.
The Secret Service initiated the request that officials search the building after the men were arrested and booked into Clark County Detention Center on counterfeiting charges, said Tom Spurlock, agent in charge of the agency's Philadelphia office.
The request did not indicate authorities would be looking for explosives, Spurlock said. No counterfeiting equipment was found.
Michael Beeler and Theodore Supranovicz, both of Washington Township, gave permission for their cars and properties to be searched, Spurlock said. Both were arrested after allegedly passing fake $20 bills at a Las Vegas casino.
Authorities seized an automatic weapon during their search of Supranovicz's house. His father informed the agents that his family had another property and consented to a search of the packing plant, Spurlock said.
Police found the devices inside an area used for storage at the packing plant, Washington Township Deputy Police Chief Jim Murphy said.
Camden County Sheriff Michael McLaughlin, whose bomb squad was examining the devices, described them as two pipe bombs and what appeared to be a grenade inside packages in the storage area.
He said one of the packages had writing on it that said, "Don't f--- with this package."
He said investigators also found the makings of other explosive devices.
"Those devices were inert," McLaughlin said.
The packing plant is on what was once a working farm. No evacuations were necessary.
Spurlock said federal prosecutors in New Jersey must decide whether to file weapons offenses against Beeler and Supranovicz. Both men remain in custody in Las Vegas awaiting a hearing on the counterfeiting charges.
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