Wife of man charged with bringing fake bomb on plane says device was an alarm clock

ST> FRANCIS, Wis. -- The wife of a Cudahy, Wis. man accused of bringing a fake bomb on a plane in Canada said Friday that it was just an alarm clock.

Police arrested Joseph Galaska for having what U.S. Customs and Border Protection call a "mock improvised explosive device" in his bag.

The plane was supposed to leave from Toronto Pearson International Airport for O'Hare International Airport Thursday morning.

"I swear to God it's a clock," said Maria Silva, Galaska's wife. "It was not a bomb at all, but an alarm clock."

Silva said she was visiting Brazil, where she's from, with her husband and a friend. Silva traveled back to the states the weekend before Galaska was set to arrive home.

When she went to O'Hare to pick him up Thursday, she learned he wasn't on the flight.

Authorities charged him with mischief, and a judge set his bail at $5,000. He's currently in jail in Toronto. Silva said she saw the clock.

"He loves this kind of souvenir," Silva said. "He used to be a tool and die maker. He brought one back for his friends before and had no problem."

She describes the alarm clock as looking like a robot.

When a WISN-TV reporter asked why Galaska wouldn't just explain the situation to authorities and clear everything up Silva answered, "He did, and they say it's nothing. It's not a bomb. It's a clock. He would never do anything to hurt anyone. He's a good person with a good heart."

Now Silva is going back and forth with lawyers trying to get her husband home. Police won't describe what the device looked like but say the incident isn't terrorism-related.