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Retired Waller officer arrested
Explosives found in home of self-described Irish 'terrorist'
By MIKE GLENN
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
May 2, 2011, 10:24PM
A retired officer with the Waller Police Department who authorities said described himself as a "terrorist" from Ireland, is the target of a federal investigation after explosives were found in his home.
George K. McCullough, 64, was arrested Friday and accused of illegally storing 800 feet of detonating cord and four electric blasting caps at his home in Cypress, federal officials said Monday.
McCullough, who remains in federal custody, bought items such as replica pipe bombs, rocket launchers and explosive suicide vests from a company in Scranton, Pa., according to federal criminal complaint filed against him.
In September 2009, McCullough told FBI agents that he bought such items for training law enforcement and other first responders. FBI agents said he owned a private security company, Red Lobo Safety and Security, based out of his home in the 15300 block of Ochre Leaf Trail.
"Though useful for counterterrorism training for law enforcement personnel, the items would also be useful in teaching someone how to construct their own homemade (improvised explosive devices,)" FBI investigators said in the federal complaint.
In November 2010, Harris County sheriff's deputies responded to a burglary at McCullough's home. They saw military-style ammunition boxes with red labels marked "explosives", FBI agents said.
"McCullough would not allow fingerprints or photos to be taken within the residence," the complaint stated.
IRA sympathies
In December 2010, an employee at a motorcycle shop told FBI agents that McCullough had started identifying himself as a terrorist from Belfast, Ireland, the complaint stated. He made similar comments to a Waller police officer that he once worked with and sometimes referred to himself as "Mac Culadh" — one of the Gaelic names for McCullough, FBI agents said in the complaint.
McCullough also took trips to Dublin, Ireland - most recently in May 2010 - and noted his Irish Republican Army sympathies on websites like Amazon.com.
The investigation accelerated in 2011.
In February, McCullough handed over 800 feet of commercial-quality explosive detonating cord and four blasting caps to a Harris County sheriff's deputy.
The complaint doesn't specify why McCullough contacted the HCSO to give up the explosives. He had been questioned by investigators several times before that.
Detonating cord is generally used to link several charges together or as an explosive cutting tool when wrapped around a heavy object. It is illegal to own without a proper license.
McCullough said he was legally permitted to handle and store explosives through an employer. The complaint states the company - which could not be reached for comment late Monday - fired in him 2008. Even then, explosives can't simply be stored at home, officials said.
A sheriff's deputy found a U.S. Army explosives handbook in McCullough's car during a traffic stop.
Less than a week before his arrest, McCullough gave permission for a search of his home for explosives that he said would be there. He also said more explosives could be found at a rental storage unit. The complaint did not state a location for the storage unit.
However, according to the complaint, no additional devises or explosive materials were found.
On Monday, FBI agents declined to comment further on the investigation. Waller Police Chief Phil Rehak said McCullough had been a Waller officer several years ago and wasn't familiar with him.
"His tenure was before my tenure. I never worked with him," Rehak said late Monday.
McCullough is expected to be in court Tuesday. He is facing 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.
