Man Accused of Delivering Bomb in Bouquet Arrested

A man identified as the tuxedo-clad bomber who delivered a booby-trapped bouquet that injured two women was arrested Tuesday at a country house he reportedly shared with the estranged husband of one of the victims.

Shaun Jerome Small, 27, was taken into custody on a federal warrant accusing him of detonation of an explosive device involving personal injury. Bail was set at $100,000.

At a Tuesday afternoon news conference, FBI Agent Raymond Mislock said Small had called San Francisco police early Tuesday and indicated he wanted to surrender, but he was arrested by Lake County deputies before arrangements could be made.

Scheduled for Arraignment

Small was scheduled for arraignment Wednesday in federal court on charges of bombing a federal building where injury could result, crime on a government reservation--attempted murder--and possession of an unregistered explosive device, the FBI said. Small was being returned to San Francisco late Tuesday.

Maximum sentence on conviction on those charges is 20 years in a prison and a fine of $250,000.

The bomber allegedly tried to deliver a second flower arrangement to one of the victims’ parents a short time after Monday’s explosion, but the woman’s 78-year-old father turned him away.

Lake County Sheriff’s Capt. Glen Perkins said Small was arrested without incident when he left a house and got into a car in Clearlake Park, about 75 miles northeast of San Francisco.

He said the FBI had asked officers to watch the house because it was believed Small was sharing it with longtime friend Peter Pilaski.

Pilaski is the estranged husband of one of the bombing victims, Melanie Pilaski, 41. FBI Agent Robert Delinski said Tuesday that authorities also were searching for Pilaski, but only to question him.

Linked to Divorce

Authorities said the bombing apparently stemmed from an ugly divorce proceeding between the Pilaskis. Melanie Pilaski’s father, Willard Swanstrom, said Small recently threatened his daughter because she had frozen the couple’s bank accounts.

Also injured was Melanie Pilaski’s co-worker, Pamela Castro, 42, of San Bruno.

Officials at San Francisco General Hospital said both women were in good condition Tuesday. Spokeswoman Ruth Rankin said Pilaski was recovering from second-degree burns to her face and chest and Castro, who had been wearing glasses at the time of the blast, had first-degree burns to the face and hands and cuts from broken glass.

An all-points bulletin for Small was issued less than an hour after the bomb exploded in the General Services Administration office on the 33rd floor of the downtown Tishman Building, where Melanie Pilaski is a supervisor handling federal government supply surpluses, said San Francisco Police Officer Dave Ambrose.

Ambrose said a witness who knew Small said she saw him deliver the flowers to the office. That witness and others told police that the man was dressed in a white tuxedo and a derby and was wearing makeup, including eyeliner, and what appeared to be a fake beard and mustache, the officer said.

Shortly afterwards, taxi driver Peter Chandler told police he picked up a man, whom he believed to be a florist, at the El Cerrito station of the BART subway system and drove him to the Swanstroms’ home.

Saw Daughter on TV

Swanstrom said he was watching television and had just seen a picture of his daughter being taken out of the building on a stretcher.

“This fellow came to the front door,” Swanstrom said. “I recognized him as Peter’s henchman. He said, ‘Some flowers for Mr. Swanstrom.’ I was already alert for anything like that, so I said, ‘Take them away; take them away,’ and I slammed the door.”