Federal and state officials arrested two New Jersey members of the racist skinhead group "The Hated" on federal weapons charges on May 21, 2005. According to authorities, Gabriel Carafa, 24, approached a police informant in January 2005 for assistance in building a bomb to be used to kill minorities in southern New Jersey.
Tipped off by the informant, the New Jersey Office of Bias Crimes set up a sting operation. An undercover agent allegedly made a deal with Carafa - if Carafa would provide the materials for the bomb, they would build it for him. Carafa brought them 60 pounds of urea, a fertilizer that can be used to make explosives (such as the bomb used to destroy the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995).
Undercover officers, including agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, also allegedly purchased 11 guns from Carafa and another racist skinhead, Craig Orler, 28, both convicted felons. Both have been charged with possession of stolen weapons by convicted felons.
Carafa, a racist skinhead from Pennsville, who has the word "Rahowa" (an acronym for "racial holy war") tattooed on his forehead, is a member of the Creativity Movement and a racist skinhead group known as "The Hated." Orler, from Manchester, is a member of "The Hated." "The Hated" is a racist skinhead group based primarily in Florida, but which has a small membership in New Jersey as well.
Both Carafa and Orler have a criminal past. Carafa served time in prison after pleading guilty in 2004 to a hate crime (terroristic threats and bias intimidation) against a Hindu convenience store manager. Orler has multiple convictions for aggravated assault and burglary.
In the past three years, the racist skinhead subculture in the United States has experienced a significant resurgence, with growth in the number of racist skinhead groups, in the number of unaffiliated racist skinheads, and in the amount of skinhead related crimes, especially hate crimes.
Carafa and Orler are being held without bail. If convicted, they face possible sentences of 15 years to life. The investigation that led to their arrest is ongoing, authorities say.
