Jan. 16 trial date set for alleged Indiana postal bomber

HAMMOND, Ind. – A Jan. 16 trial date has been set for a northwestern Indiana man facing five federal charges stemming from a pipe bomb explosion at a post office.

Not guilty pleas were entered Monday for 45-year-old Eric P. Krieg of Munster during his arraignment in U.S. District Court in Hammond.

A grand jury indicted Krieg this month on charges of mailing a threatening communication, making an unregistered destructive device and other bomb-related charges.

Krieg is accused of mailing a package at the East Chicago post office that exploded Sept. 6, injuring a postal worker. Prosecutors say the package was addressed to an attorney who represented an individual whom Krieg agreed to pay $45,000 to settle a lawsuit.