Trial Set for 7 Accused of Terror Plot

PaperPlatesPaperPlates Posts: 1,745
edited July 2006 in A Moving Train
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TERRORISM_INVESTIGATION?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

MIAMI (AP) -- Two informants were paid nearly $56,000 by the FBI for their roles in the investigation that led to the arrests of seven men accused of plotting attacks against Chicago's Sears Tower and government buildings, prosecutors disclosed Wednesday.

The disclosure came as U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard set a March 5 trial date for the seven defendants.

Defense attorneys said they would need several months to prepare and go through evidence, which includes 56 days of video surveillance footage and many hours of transcripts from telephone wiretap and body wire recordings.

"It should give you a sufficient amount of time," Lenard told the lawyers at a brief hearing.



The seven are accused in a four-count indictment of conspiracy and material support charges stemming from an alleged plot to blow up the Sears Tower and destroy FBI offices and other buildings in Miami, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Washington. All have pleaded not guilty and are being held without bail.

Authorities have said their plot never got beyond the preliminary stages and that the group - allegedly led by Narseal Batiste, 32 - had acquired no explosives or weapons needed for such an attack. They had taken surveillance photos of buildings in the Miami area.

Prosecution court documents disclosed the payments to the two informants, one of whom posed as an al-Qaida operative. That informant, known as confidential witness 2 or "CW2" in court papers, was given legal U.S. immigration status in return for his help.

CW2 also was paid $17,000 for his work and $19,570 in expenses, according to court papers. He is of Arabic heritage and was introduced to Batiste as an al-Qaida operative who could help provide weapons and supplies for the purported operations.

The other information, confidential witness 1, or "CW1," was paid $10,500 for his work plus $8,815 for expenses. He was an acquaintance of Batiste's who had also worked with the FBI since 2004. He tipped off authorities when Batiste asked him whether he knew anyone in Yemen who might be willing to support his plots against the United States.

It is common for the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to pay informants for their work, but the amounts are not commonly disclosed publicly so early in the legal process."


I say good job FBI. And a big thank you for helping keep us safe. Imagine the plots they stop that they DONT tell us about.
Why go home

www.myspace.com/jensvad
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • rightonduderightondude Posts: 745
    And sad people they are. Most likely living directly in, or amongst people living in sad and futile circumstances.
  • PaperPlatesPaperPlates Posts: 1,745
    And sad people they are. Most likely living directly in, or amongst people living in sad and futile circumstances.

    Does every person living in sad, futile circumstances decide to try and blow up buildings and kill thousands?
    Why go home

    www.myspace.com/jensvad
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