A North Caldwell man the FBI depicts as being "obsessed with explosives," admitted to transporting explosive materials across state lines without a license or a permit, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced Thursday.

Anthony Nicholas Gallo, 20, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Anne E. Thompson in Trenton federal court to charges that he drove from New Jersey to Pennsylvania carrying an explosive mixture of potassium chlorate and magnesium in a PVC pipe, the U.S. Attorney said.

Stuffing the chemicals in the pipe, according to court documents, creates a contained environment that would produce a more powerful explosion.

According to court documents, Gallo traveled to Pennsylvania on Jan. 8, 2012 with the explosives, a trip he bragged about on Facebook. Later that month, on Jan. 19, he landed in a New Jersey emergency room with burn injuries from a potassium chlorate explosion.

In February 2012, the South Dakota university Gallo had been attending allegedly reported discovering various unidentifiable chemicals in his dorm room when one of his parents requested the room be packed up. Police later identified the materials as ones used to create explosives. 

Gallo could face a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. His sentencing is scheduled for June 5.