Subscribe to Print Edition | Tue., September 22, 2009 Tishrei 4, 5770 | | Israel Time: 22:19 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental Books Strenger than Fiction Business Real Estate Focus U.S.A. Magazine Week's End Anglo File
Comments:  100
Share |
Last update - 00:00 22/05/2009
FBI: New York terror suspects sought 'to bring death to Jews'
By News Agencies
Tags: Israel News, Jewish World 

Four men arrested after planting what they thought were explosives near two New York City synagogues were "eager to bring death to Jews," a federal prosecutor said Thursday as the men appeared in court for the first time.

The suspects were arrested Wednesday night, shortly after planting a 16.78-kilogram mock explosive device in the trunk of a car outside the Riverdale Temple and two mock bombs in the backseat of a car outside the Riverdale Jewish Center, another synagogue a few blocks away, authorities said.

Police blocked their escape with an 18-wheel truck, smashing their tinted Sport Utility Vehicle windows and apprehending the unarmed suspects.
Advertisement
Authorities said the men also plotted to shoot down a military plane.

James Cromitie, 55; David Williams, 28; Onta Williams, 32; and Laguerre Payen, all of Newburgh, were charged with conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction within the United States and conspiracy to acquire and use anti-aircraft missiles.

All the suspects except Payen appeared in federal court in White Plains on
Thursday, their hands shackled to their waists. Payen was expected to appear in court later Thursday.

Lawyers for the defendants, all of whom are U.S. citizens, did not seek bail.

In arguing against bail, Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Snyder told the judge "it's hard to envision a more chilling plot and described the men as extremely
violent."

"They were disappointed...that the best target [the World Trade Center] was hit already," he said, adding that the men were "eager to bring death to Jews." He also said Cromitie wanted to see what he did on TV and be able to say, "I'm the one who did that."

Earlier, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly spoke at a news conference outside the Riverdale Jewish Center in the Bronx.

"They stated that they wanted to commit jihad," Kelly said. "They were disturbed about what happened in Afghanistan and Pakistan, that Muslims were being killed."

Kelly said he believed the men knew each other through prison. They had long rap sheets for charges including drug possession and assault. During the hearing Cromitie told the judge he had used marijuana on Wednesday but was clear-headed enough to understand the proceedings.

An official told The Associated Press that three of the men are converts to Islam. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss details of the investigation.

Payen, who officials said is of Haitian descent, occasionally attended a Newburgh mosque. His statements on Islam often had to be corrected, according to Assistant Imam Hamin Rashada, who met Payen through a program that helps prisoners re-enter society.

Acting U.S. Attorney Lev L. Dassin said the defendants planned to shoot
Stinger surface-to-air guided missiles at planes at the Air National Guard base in Newburgh, about 112 kilometers north of New York City.

The FBI and other agencies monitored the men and provided an inactive missile and inert C-4 to an informant for the defendants.

The confidential informant who broke the case told Cromitie that he was
involved with Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistani terrorist group. It is one of
several militant groups suspected of having links to Pakistani intelligence.

Jaish set up training camps in Afghanistan under the Taliban and several
senior operatives were close to Osama bin Laden.

Cromitie expressed interest in joining the group to do jihad, according to a criminal complaint.

According to state Department of Correctional Services records, Payen was
released on parole in August 2005 after serving just more than a year in
prison for attempted assault in Rockland County.

Onta Williams served just more than a year in state prison for attempted
criminal possession of a controlled substance in Orange County. He was
released on parole in August 2003.

Cromitie has been in prison at least three times under three different names, prison records show.

He served two years on a drug sale conviction and was released on parole in 1991. Then, under the name of David Anderson, he spent 2 1/2 years in prison for selling drugs in New York City before being paroled in 1996. Under the name James Crometie, he was convicted of selling drugs in a school zone in 2000 and spent almost four years in prison before being released on parole in 2004.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Kelly met privately with congregants inside the Riverdale Jewish Center Thursday.

Nancy Harris Rouemy said she was alarmed when she learned the news from a neighbor and definitely paused before dropping off her 4-year-old son at the Riverdale Jewish Center, where he goes to school. "However, the assurance is that the perpetrators were caught and my son wouldn't be in danger," she said.

"It is so upsetting," agreed her husband, Isaac. "If it was an actual bomb, it would be a disaster. It's not just a synagogue. It's a school and there are senior citizens who come here too."

The arrests came after a nearly yearlong undercover operation that began in Newburgh. The defendants bought a digital camera at Wal-Mart to take pictures of targets, they spoke in code, and they expressed their hatred of Jews on several occasions, according to a criminal complaint.

In June 2008, the informant, who was acting under law enforcement supervision, met Cromitie in Newburgh and Cromitie complained that his parents had lived in Afghanistan and he was upset about the war there and that many Muslim people were being killed in Afghanistan and Pakistan by U.S. military forces, officials said.

Cromitie also expressed an interest in doing something to America, they said in the complaint.

In October 2008, the informant began meeting with the defendants at a Newburgh house equipped with concealed video and audio equipment, the complaint said.

Beginning in April 2009, the four men selected the synagogues they intended to hit, it said. They also conducted surveillance of military planes at the Air National Guard Base, it said.


Related articles:
  • Jordanian arrested for allegedly threatening to bomb U.S. Jewish schools over Gaza op
  • Three held in Manila over plot to bomb U.S., Israeli embassies
  • Wesleyan students bristle at talk of 'Jewish Columbine'
    • PROMOTION: Mamilla Hotel
    Bookmark to del.icio.us  
     
    Proud Holocaust denier
    Ahmadinejad defends calling Shoah 'a lie based on an unprovable and mythical claim.'
    Obama's Mideast plan
    Upcoming 3-way summit serves, first and foremost, as a much sought photo-op.
      1.   The future 05:41  |  Christopher 21/05/09
      2.   DELETED BY MODERATOR 06:58  |  Izi 21/05/09
      3.   Lighten up, Chris. 07:19  |  Sgt Hulka 21/05/09
      4.   #1 Trust me - your government won`t tell the truth 07:34  |  Marc Leb 21/05/09
      5.   DELETED BY MODERATOR 07:35  |  ana bechoach 21/05/09
      6.   9/11 07:40  |  gly 21/05/09
      7.   DELETED BY MODERATOR 07:43  |  me 21/05/09
      8.   Probably pathetic clowns 07:56  |  Colin Wright 21/05/09
      9.   Christopher, NO matter what, muslims are the bad guys, right??? 08:19  |  Biddut Miah 21/05/09
      10.   Baloney. Set them free now. You have no case. 08:25  |  Lou Medel 21/05/09
      11.   #1, christopher, they are liars 08:28  |  VIPER 21/05/09
      12.   LETS hear it from the dual loyalties brigade "REAL AMERICANS"! 08:42  |  PETER SM 21/05/09
      13.   Jihadist emerge from under the bed 08:55  |  Stephen in New York 21/05/09
      14.   DELETED BY MODERATOR 08:57  |  indrajaya 21/05/09
      15.   Thank you, FBI 09:06  |  Yuriy 21/05/09
      16.   DELETED BY MODERATOR 09:24  |  Ruben 21/05/09
      17.   DELETED BY MODERATOR 09:31  |  Mark B. 21/05/09
      18.   DELETED BY MODERATOR 09:31  |  Mark 21/05/09
      19.   DELETED BY MODERATOR 09:32  |  Brad 21/05/09
      20.   CONGRESS BLOCKED THE FUNDING 09:36  |  indrajaya 21/05/09
      21.   Ummm, is this not supposed to be a disease of "Eurabia"? 09:37  |  Mark B. 21/05/09
      22.   Now we know who some "Americans" on this site are... 09:46  |  S 21/05/09
      23.   Is it time to start discussing outlawing islam in the free world? 09:47  |  Johnny 21/05/09
      24.   Three of them were already prisoners 09:50  |  Trooper 21/05/09
      25.   DELETED BY MODERATOR 09:51  |  Helle Klein 21/05/09
      26.   Muslims involved in terror plot! 09:53  |  Baruch Gold 21/05/09
      27.   DELETED BY MODERATOR 10:00  |  indrajaya 21/05/09
      28.   peter sm 7 10:08  |  potobac 21/05/09
      29.   #17 Johnny, the answer depends on one`s conviction 10:11  |  Mark B. 21/05/09
      30.   MEDEL.Can`t understand the word" conspiracy"? 10:27  |  PETER SM 21/05/09
      31.   #9 Shhhhhh, No one whants to hear the true 10:28  |  Michael 21/05/09
      32.   ME They said Afghanistan & Pakistan.! Nothing to do with the IDF 10:32  |  PETER SM 21/05/09
      33.   DELETED BY MODERATOR 10:38  |  Ralph 21/05/09
      34.   A Mossad plot again 10:42  |  The Revving Girl 21/05/09
      35.   What do some of our "Americans" contributors say?...3rd try 10:42  |  S 21/05/09
      36.   DELETED BY MODERATOR 10:50  |  glenna 21/05/09
      37.   Biddut: 1948 Jordan expulsed jews from Jerusalem 11:14  |  Arthur 21/05/09
      38.   Sham 11:18  |  Dr. Joji Cherian 21/05/09
      39.   #19 Mark B 11:36  |  Hastaroth 21/05/09
      40.   DELETED BY MODERATOR 11:36  |  PETER SM 21/05/09
      41.   there are muslim calls to prayer in Brooklyn five times a day 11:46  |  incaseudidn`tknow 21/05/09
      42.   #8 Lou Medel 12:02  |  H 21/05/09
      43.   their alias`s 12:12  |  j 21/05/09
      44.   terrorists attempted to plant fake bombs 12:15  |  JBT 21/05/09
      45.   Wait, isnt this supposed to be the settlers fault ? 12:16  |  Jimmi Dhimmi 21/05/09
      46.   Obama 12:17  |  Gary 21/05/09
      47.   Gracias FBI... 12:18  |  Yosemite 21/05/09
      48.   #21, S 12:19  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 21/05/09
      49.   religion of peace strikes again 12:28  |  danny 21/05/09
      50.   I`m surprised the New Yorl Jewish community 12:33  |  Chris Linthwaite 21/05/09
      51.   Most Muslims Are Very Good but Islam is very bad 12:33  |  x-factor 21/05/09
      52.   potoboc 12th generation american 12:37  |  harzion 21/05/09
      53.   A Mossad plot again - Bad zionists are getting nervous 12:38  |  Rocko Klein 21/05/09
      54.   the blacks in the usa feel they are repressed 12:39  |  12th generation am 21/05/09
      55.   GOOD 12:59  |  j 21/05/09
      56.   Indy in response 26 13:05  |  Jackie 21/05/09
      57.   Wherever there is a bomb threat threatening innocent lives 13:09  |  Mongo 21/05/09
      58.   What happens if a muslim or jew gets swine flu? 13:21  |  Porcine Cleansing 21/05/09
      59.   Muslims converted to the Dark Side. 13:24  |  Razi 21/05/09
      60.   Muslims??? 13:41  |  Confused 21/05/09
      61.   each person will be questioned by itself in THE HOUSE OF THE GOD. 13:54  |  Atilla Karagözoğlu 21/05/09
      62.   Sgt Hulka - "Lighten up" 13:56  |  Christopher 21/05/09
      63.   Biddut in Dallas:-Muslims are the bad guys? 14:02  |  Christopher 21/05/09
      64.   Medel 14:05  |  Arie 21/05/09
      65.   Really pissing people off 14:19  |  Arie 21/05/09
      66.   #7 Colin Wrong - Would you want to take 14:20  |  *BEN JABO 21/05/09
      67.   #13 indrayaya - How`s things in Jakarta? 14:22  |  *BEN JABO 21/05/09
      68.   #10 AS VIPER - It doesn`t matter who they 14:24  |  *BEN JABO 21/05/09
      69.   Terror against us...again 14:25  |  Michael K 21/05/09
      70.   indrayay 14:26  |  *BEN JABO 21/05/09
      71.   The Revving Girl 14:27  |  Sean 21/05/09
      72.   #28 Potobac - easy question 4 U 14:30  |  *BEN JABO 21/05/09
      73.   harzion 52 15:32  |  potobac 21/05/09
      74.   #50 Chris, #71 Sean 16:40  |  Solomon 21/05/09
      75.   Lou Medel- closing all your posts 16:52  |  Arnold 21/05/09
      76.   potoboc "if you cant do the time" 16:56  |  harzion 21/05/09
      77.   #70 Ben Jabo re Indy 17:56  |  Big Sur 21/05/09
      78.   harzion 76 18:13  |  potobac 21/05/09
      79.   Timing of these arrests are a tad suspicious! 18:13  |  ballistic 21/05/09
      80.   BREAKING NEWS 18:14  |  indrajaya 21/05/09
      81.   dark ages of witch hunting is back 20:13  |  muslim-- 21/05/09
      82.   racial profiling #54 media trial victem 21:15  |  muslim-- 21/05/09
      83.   absurd plot product of FBI provocateur 21:33  |  Dolphin 21/05/09
      84.   U.S. domestic terrorism rarely aimed at Jews 01:13  |  Hanna 22/05/09
      85.   Christopher #63 `Biddut in Dallas...` 01:50  |  Colin Wright 22/05/09
      86.   #82, #83, minimizers and excusers 01:53  |  bronxite10 22/05/09
      87.   Dolphin # 83 So What`s Your Defense, Councilor? 02:07  |  Jeff Northridge 22/05/09
      88.   Talk about dumb f**ks 02:27  |  maoriboy 22/05/09
      89.   Conspiracy theories abound 03:02  |  It is what it is. 22/05/09
      90.   preparing 03:25  |  ehud 22/05/09
      91.   Headlines should have read... 08:54  |  PADDY 22/05/09
      92.   MUSLIM".Nation of Islam"is free to incite& spew racist hatred" 09:19  |  PETER SM 22/05/2009
      93.   #8 Medell-they planted plastic explosives in cars,as car bombs-th 09:33  |  Susanna/Shoshana 22/05/09
      94.   #.91. PADDY. 12:47  |  Stephen. 22/05/09
      95.   I smell a rat !!! 12:59  |  Cynic #2 22/05/09
      96.   Cipora #48 13:09  |  S 22/05/09
      97.   #80 indrajyayaya 16:12  |  *BEN JABO 22/05/09
      98.   Colin in CA: Move to the present! 16:24  |  Christopher 22/05/09
      99.   #10 Lou Medal 19:19  |  *BEN JABO 22/05/09
      100.   #98 Say Ben Jabo, stop whining!! 20:17  |  ballistic 22/05/09
    Special Offers
    Advertisement
    Holiday Greetings from the Heart
    LIBI-Caring for Israeli Soldiers
    WORLD'S LARGEST YOM KIPPUR SERVICE
    150 Locations. 40,000 Participants Great Investment. Guaranteed Results
    Holiday Greetings from the Heart
    LIBI-Caring for Israeli Soldiers
    Date Local Jewish Singles
    Ready to meet your match? Join Jdate today!
    Eldan Rent a Car
    Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations
    Junkyard
    Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
    Amazing Jewelry
    Visit SoKoBe.com for the best priced fine jewelry in the world
    More Headlines
    22:12 Netanyahu: All sides agree peace talks should start soon
    21:01 ANALYSIS / This is no George Bush summit
    16:00 Peres hopes Obama-led summit will yield return to peace talks
    18:57 Rightist MKs: We mustn't freeze settlement construction
    21:27 IN PICTURES / Obama holds Israel-Palestinian summit in New York
    17:29 The Gaza War 'victory' - Has Israel grown dependent on terror?
    22:15 Singer Leonard Cohen lands in Israel ahead of concert
    22:10 TV ROUND-UP: Goldstone blasts 'war criminals', Netanyahu heads to N.Y.
    22:02 Germans to walk out if Ahmadinejad denies Holocaust at UN meet
    18:16 Haniyeh to UN chief: Hamas accepts Palestinian state in '67 borders
    19:14 Stadiums, hotels in U.S. warned of possible terror plots
    12:28 IDF soldiers kill Israeli Arab who tried to ram into checkpoint
    13:34 Udi Aloni / Seinfeld, you were wrong to condemn our Toronto protest
    Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Site rules |
    | Advert: Recommended Restaurants | Makom: Engaging on Israel
    | Search engine marketing
    Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
    © Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved