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| Would-be Boomer Befuddled by Bay Ridge Osama |
| 2006-01-25 |
| "It had originally been your plan to put a bomb in the 34th Street subway station?" Brooklyn Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Harrison asked Pakistani-born defendant Shahawar Matin Siraj in federal court. "Yes, that's correct," Siraj, 23, sniffed nonchalantly. The suspect then gave similar responses to a string of questions about his alleged mastermind role in the potentially devastating terror scheme. Siraj was busted in August 2004, just days before the Republican National Convention at Madison Square Garden, above the hub for the transit system around Herald Square. Siraj also allegedly devised an elaborate scheme to launch bloody attacks on two other Manhattan subway stations, the Verrazano Bridge, Staten Island police station houses and a jail — "to teach these bastards a good lesson," according to court papers. Siraj and an alleged accomplice were reportedly incensed over the U.S. prisoner-abuse scandal at the now-infamous Abu Ghraib jail in Iraq. Thank you, media. The suspect — who had been living as an illegal alien in Jackson Heights, Queens, at the time — proclaimed he was "ready for jihad," the papers said. The alleged fiend was foiled after a confidential informant — identified by Siraj's lawyer as an Egyptian man named Osama Doaudi — caught Siraj and his accomplice, James El Shafay, on video and audiotape discussing the meticulous plot. Finally, an Osama we can like. Doaudi, working for the feds, first approached Siraj at his uncle's Islamic bookstore in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, sometime in 2004, authorities said. Bay Ridge? Used to be heavily Scandanavian. My folks were born there. My grandparents are now spinning in their graves. A video even catches the trio driving by Penn Station on a reconnaissance mission and talking about what type of backpacks they should use to carry bombs, according to Siraj's lawyer, Martin Stolar. Stolar argued that the case was clearly based on entrapment. Siraj claimed that after his bust, a federal agent told him he would be meeting with a "prosecutor" and "said they would help you if you told the truth. "I never used this word 'prosecutor' before," Siraj insisted. "I thought he was my lawyer. That's why I speak to him. I was shocked, stressed, confusion." Well, it's not the government's fault if you don't know what "prosecutor" means. Ignorance of the law, etc. Interesting, though. What he's pretty much saying is, "I spilled everything about the plot because I thought the guy was my public defender, and they'd never be able to use it against me." Ooops! |
| Posted by:growler |
| #4 "I never used this word 'prosecutor' before," Siraj insisted. Yes, ideed, ignorance of the common language can make understanding a bit difficult. That's why I always carried a pocket dictionary or two with me when I lived abroad. Such an idiot deserves to be caught. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-01-25 17:38 |
| #3 "I never used this word 'prosecutor' before," Siraj insisted. Here's a hint: If you can't understand the basic elements of a country's language, and don't understand their legal system, don't go there and break the law. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2006-01-25 13:35 |
| #2 The suspect — who had been living as an illegal alien in Jackson Heights, Queens, at the time — proclaimed he was "ready for jihad," the papers said. Thank-you immigration enforcement. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2006-01-25 13:34 |
| #1 "Bay Ridge? Used to be heavily Scandanavian. My folks were born there. My grandparents are now spinning in their graves." hasnt been mainly Scandinavian in years, though theres still Lutheran old folks home, I think. When i grew up nearby, it was mainly Irish and Italian. I havent been to Bay Ridge lately, but have been to Sunset Park, which is mainly Chinese, Dominican, and muslim - recall Atlantic Avenue has been muslim for some time (theres also a big Bangladeshi concentration over at Church avenue) So I guess BR has become heavily Chinese and Muslim. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2006-01-25 12:48 |