Homemade Bomb Expert Joins OSU Improvised Explosives Lab

One of the nation's top experts on homemade bombs is in Green Country. John Frucci was recently named the Director of OSU's Center for Improvised Explosives.

Frucci has more than 20 years of law enforcement experience covering everything from defusing bombs to being named the International Investigator of the Year.

The New Jersey native, who has 10 years of bomb squad experience, is sharing his knowledge with technicians in the field. Right here in Tulsa, bomb technicians from across the nation are learning to identify and safely dismantle bombs.

"To work with materials that we work with in this lab is pretty amazing," said John Frucci, Director of the OSU Center for Improvised Explosives.

"The bad guys only have to get it right once, the good guys - they have to get it right every time," he said.

Frucci joins forensic chemist Jarrad Wagner who handles the lab work and dozens of volatile materials used in homemade bombs.

"What John brings is a very hands on, strong investigative background that directly speaks to the bomb technicians," Wagner said.

"He can speak directly to them and help them implement the technologies or the information that I provide."

Through this class, techs learn what equipment to use, and how each bomb-making material will react to different tests.

"So it's not just 'I think it's going to work this way,' it exactly how it behaves," said forensic chemist Jarrad Wagner.

They have a state-of-the-art lab that can hold 24 students. They attend class for a week. They also learn how to assist in an investigations like the one going on in Boston.

"They can safely evaluate the materials in the field, make a decision about what they have, and then call the right people," Wagner said.

A decision that can be a matter of life or death in the field. And that will now be more accurate and safer, thanks to an Oklahoma connection.

Along with his achievements as an investigator and bomb squad commander, Frucci also responded to the 9/11 attacks at the World Trade Center - conducting search and rescue operations.

"If I can help one bomb technician not have an injury, to gain an extra bit of knowledge - to me that this is all worth it," said John Frucci, the new director of OSU's Center for Improvised Explosives in Tulsa.