Ramiz Zijad Hodzic, 45, of St. Louis County, was sentenced by a federal judge Thursday after pleading guilty in April to providing material support to terrorists and conspiring to do so.
Hodzic had recruited a handful of his fellow Bosnian immigrants to help support Abdullah Ramo Pazara, a St. Louis man who moved to Syria in 2013, serving as an ISIS commander, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Pazara died the following year fighting for the terrorist group.
Hodzic sent cash and surplus US military uniforms as well as other surplus gear, combat boots, tactical gear, rangefinders and rifle scopes to Pazara and other third parties between 2013 and 2015, prosecutors charged.
He also received money from five co-defendants ‐ some of which went to Pazara, according to prosecutors.
Hodzic's attorney, Diane Dragan, pushed for a shorter sentence ‐ claiming her client mostly sent Pazara non-military supplies that he himself had valued while fighting in the Bosnian War, like socks, according to the Post-Dispatch.
He was once awarded the Golden Lily, Bosnia's highest military honor, during his own service, Dragan said.
She said that Hodzic had explained to his children he does not support the Islamic State, and had never spoke negatively about America.
"He is an individual who loves the United States," she said.
She emphasized that Hodzic "loved Abdullah like a brother," according to the report.
"He mentored him from a drug addict to sobriety," she added, but admitted that Pazara "changed" during his time in Syria.
But Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Drake argued that Hodzic was aware of Pazara's role as an Islamic State leader of as many as 250 troops, the paper reported. Pazara bragged about murder and beheadings and advocated for slavery, the paper reported.
Hodzic has agreed to be deported to Bosnia following his release from prison.Five of the six original co-defendants ‐ including Hodzic's wife, Sedina Unkic Hodzic, who has yet to be sentenced ‐ have pleaded guilty in federal court.