Former NYC teacher, brother charged with attempted bomb-making

Feb 15 (Reuters) - A former New York City high school teacher and his brother were arrested on Thursday and charged with attempting to build an explosive device after an investigation by the FBI, according to authorities.

Christian Toro, the former teacher, and his brother Tyler Toro, both 27, had stockpiled materials for making bombs in the apartment they shared in the city's Bronx borough, according to a criminal complaint and a news release from the Department of Justice.

Christian Toro was a teacher at a high school in Manhattan's Harlem neighborhood before resigning last year. When he left the job, Toro returned a computer that had been provided by the school, and staff found instructions on it for building explosive devices, according to the complaint.

Investigators found that at least two students at the school had been paid about $50 an hour to break apart fireworks and store powder for the two men, the complaint said.

A search of the apartment on Thursday found potassium nitrate, black powder identified as an explosive material, metal spheres and other bomb components, according to the document.

Law enforcement agents found a backpack with an index card reading, "Under the full moon the small ones will know terror," the complaint said.

The two brothers were charged in federal court in Manhattan. Christian Toro was charged with two counts of unlawful manufacture of a destructive device and distribution of explosive materials to a minor. Tyler Toro was charged with unlawful manufacture of a destructive device.

Both men pleaded not guilty on Thursday. Authorities said they are being detained pending a bail hearing on Feb. 21.

(Reporting by Chris Kenning; Editing by Leslie Adler)