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Ridgewood physician in explosives case insists on representing himself

ONLY ON CVP: A Ridgewood physician found with explosive chemicals and firearms in his basement apartment nearly two years ago told a judge in Hackensack today that he wants to be “more than just a grandstander” at his trial — and, instead, be his own lawyer.

Photo Credit: CLIFFVIEW PILOT Courthouse Reporter Mary K. Miraglia
Photo Credit: CLIFFVIEW PILOT Courthouse Reporter Mary K. Miraglia
Photo Credit: CLIFFVIEW PILOT Courthouse Reporter Mary K. Miraglia

Superior Court Judge Edward A. Jerejian then delayed a decision on whether Roberto Rivera is mentally competent to be tried, after both his own attorney and the prosecutor in the case agreed that he is.

The judge urged Rivera to allow defense attorney Ian Silvera to either lead the case or serve as co-counsel against charges of recklessly storing hazardous materials that created a “widespread risk of injury or damage,” having explosive devices and assault weapons, and nine other counts related to weapons and explosives possession.

Rivera was unmoved.

Roberto Rivera (STORY / PHOTO: CLIFFVIEW PILOT Courthouse Reporter Mary K. Miraglia)

“My position is unchanged from the time I first appeared before you two years ago,” he told Jerejian. “I wish to represent myself, I wish to waive my right to counsel. I wish to actively prepare my case, present motions.

“The pro se defendant must be allowed to control the organization and content of his own defense, to participate in voir dire, to question and present witnesses,” Rivera said. “So I wish to be more than just a grandstander.”

Jerejian wasn’t pleased.

“You’re not an attorney and you lack experience in the law,” he told Rivera. “I know you have previous appeared in federal courts, but unfamiliarity with the law and court rules could hamper your ability to defend yourself. And if you choose to testify, that is an awkward situation.

“It is never a good thing when the client represents himself,” Jerejian continued. “But the Constitution does allow for it, and it would be your right to do so.”

Rivera will have to undergo an extensive hearing to determine his ability to repersent himself, the judge said.

Jerejian set a Dec. 18 date to rule on Rivera’s request, as well as on whether he’s mentally competent to stand trial.

“Then, in short order, we’ll have the hearing, the motions, and then a trial date,” he said.

Both Rivera and Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Martin Delaney agreed that there’s no longer is a competency question, following a decision by psychiatrists at the Ann Klein Forensic Hospital that Rivera doesn’t suffer from any mental diseases.

As CLIFFVIEW PILOT first reported exclusively, authorities feared domestic terrorism in November 2012 after Rivera confided to someone that he was concerned what effect a power outage from Hurricane Sandy would have on explosive chemicals he’d allegedly been refrigerating.

Those concerns drew various members of the FBI, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, the Bergen County Police Bomb Squad and Hazardous Materials Team, Ridgewood police and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Bureau of Criminal Identification to the Union Street two-family home, where Rivera lived in a converted basement.

They reported finding:

• a basement freezer containing 2.5 liters of nitric acid, which can be used to create explosive devices;
• attic containers that included hydrogen peroxide, glycerin, sulfuric acid, calcium hypochlorite, and potassium perchlorate, which can also be used to create bombs;
• 10 pounds of thermite, and 10 thermite lighters, which can be used to detonate bombs;
• several weapons, including two Cobray M11 assault pistols and a .40-caliber handgun, which weren’t registered and he wasn’t allowed to have;
• a Hellfire trigger mechanism that can allow a firearm to fire at an extremely high rate;
• several high-capacity magazines;
• a stun gun;
• assorted boxes of ammunition.

State authorities said the search also turned up folders marked “Revolution” and “Anarchism,” which they said included instructions for creating homemade explosives, a military improvised munitions manual and documents on how to convert firearms into fully-automatic machine guns.

Although he didn’t maintain a medical office here, Rivera was licensed to practice in New York and New Jersey, they said.

He also occasionally lived and worked out of his 2007 Nissan Xterra, from which he provided medical examinations on Long Island, Ridgewood police said at the time. The car contained bottles of medication, medical equipment, and prescription pads bearing Rivera’s name and New York license number, they said.

Authorities initially classified him as mentally ill, triggering a series of steps to determine his competency.

Rivera previously spent time in an institution and is classified as a “certain person” prohibited from owning firearms. He remained held on $1 million bail in the Bergen County Jail.

“I have told him it’s in his best interests that I be lead counsel, and we work together as a team on his behalf,” Silvera told the judge today. “He wants to be actively involved in his defense.”

Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Martin Delaney,def ense attorney Ian Silvera, Roberto Rivera (STORY / PHOTO: CLIFFVIEW PILOT Courthouse Reporter Mary K. Miraglia)

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