By Kristen Neymarc
The Denville man accused of operating a homemade explosives laboratory returned Monday to Superior Court in Morristown, where coordination between state and federal authorities handling separate criminal cases against him was discussed.
The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office also raised the question of whether 17 firearms seized from Joseph Rizos, 37, would be forfeited or returned to another owner.
Rizos is scheduled back before Superior Court Judge Ralph Amirata next month, after a grand jury determines if there is sufficient evidence to indict him.
Rizos rejected a plea offer last month that called for three years in state prison in exchange for pleading guilty to second-degree recklessly risking widespread injury or damage.
He faces eight state charges involving destructive devices, firearms, large-capacity magazines and recklessly risking widespread injury or damage.
FEDERAL CHARGES ADDED
Rizos also was charged late last month with three federal offenses arising from the investigation: Unlawfully receiving explosive materials, unlawfully storing explosive material and possessing plastic explosives without a required detection agent.
Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre in Newark on Aug. 26, 2026, Rizos was ordered detained pending further federal proceedings. Rizos has been in state custody since his June 24 arrest.
According to federal prosecutors, Rizos purchased explosive materials, fuels, fuses, precursor chemicals and laboratory equipment from online retailers between approximately April 2020 and June 2026 and illegally stored them at his Denville residence.
During a June 24 search, investigators recovered laboratory equipment, detailed instructions for manufacturing explosives, chemicals and containers of suspected explosives, prosecutors said.
The unlawful receipt and plastic explosives charges each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. The unlawful storage charge carries a maximum of one year.
The federal prosecution is separate from the pending state case. Both stem from the investigation of Rizos’ Avondale Road residence, where authorities reported finding approximately 109 containers of suspected homemade explosive material and 17 firearms.
Defense attorney Brian Neary previously argued that many of the materials found at the residence had legitimate uses and that investigators had uncovered no evidence that Rizos intended to carry out an attack.
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