ActiveMQ 5.9.0 connection.start() hangs in Tomcat 7.0.41

Hi guys,
I intend to create an activemq connection programatically inside a webapp
deployed in tomcat.

My code:

In line *sendConnection.start()* the thread hangs and I have no response.
With the debugger I can see that in *ArrayBlockingQueue<E>.take()* is the
real problem.

I have a unit test using the same code, and when I run it is working.
However, even for the unit test, when I debug inside
"sendConnection.start()" sometime is hanging.

Do you have any idea?
Thank you very much,
Doru