Two Men Convicted in JFK Airport Fuel-Tank Bomb Plot

NBC New York 08/02/2010 15:26

Two men were convicted Monday of plotting to blow up jet fuel tanks at John F. Kennedy International Airport, a plan that authorities said was meant to outdo the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and avenge perceived U.S. oppression of Muslims around the world.

Russell Defreitas, a former JFK cargo handler, and Abdul Kadir, once a member of Guyana's parliament, were convicted of multiple conspiracy charges. Kadir was acquitted of one charge, surveillance of mass transportation. The Brooklyn federal court jury deliberated about five days.

Defreitas, a 66-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen from Guyana, and Kadir, 58, were arrested in 2007 after an informant infiltrated the plot and recorded them discussing it.

Prosecutors alleged that Defreitas and Kadir wanted to kill thousands of people and cripple the American economy by using explosives to blow up the fuel tanks and the underground pipelines that run through an adjacent Queens neighborhood. Authorities say the men sought the help of militant Muslims, including an al-Qaida operative, in Guyana.

The defendants wanted to set off an explosion "so massive ... that it could be seen from far, far away," Assistant U.S. Attorney Zainab Ahmad said in closing arguments. Their vision prompted them to code name the plot "The Shining Light," the prosecutor said.

The two men shut their eyes when the verdict was read and whispered quietly to their attorneys. During the trial, their lawyers described the two men as clueless trash-talkers who were led astray by the informant, a convicted drug dealer.