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From the Los Angeles Times

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ATF Fast and Furious guns turned up in El Paso

They were being stored for shipment to Mexico, documents show. It's the first case of vanished weapons from the surveillance program showing up on this side of the border outside the Phoenix area.

by Richard A. Serrano, Washington Bureau

September 29, 2011

Reporting from Washington

A cache of assault weapons lost in the ATF's gun-trafficking surveillance operation in Phoenix turned up in El Paso, where it was being stored for shipment to Mexico, according to new internal agency emails and federal court records.

Forty firearms along with ammunition magazines and ballistic vests were discovered in Texas in January 2010 during the early stages of the program, meaning the firearms vanished soon after the program began.

Under the program, dubbed Fast and Furious, agents with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in the Phoenix field office allowed licensed firearm dealers to sell weapons to illegal "straw" buyers in the hope that the agents could track the weapons and arrest Mexican drug cartel leaders.

Instead, more than 2,000 weapons were trafficked along the U.S.-Mexico border, and many were used in violent crimes in Mexico. In addition, two AK-47 semi-automatics involved in the program were recovered after a U.S. Border Patrol agent was killed south of Tucson, and two others were found after a violent confrontation with state police officers in Maricopa, Ariz.

The El Paso case is the first example of Fast and Furious weapons turning up on this side of the border outside the Phoenix area.

According to an ATF document, Sean Christopher Steward bought the 40 AK-47-type assault rifles on Dec. 24, 2009, from the Lone Wolf Trading Co. gun store in Glendale, a suburb of Phoenix. The cache was part of 290 firearms ultimately acquired by Steward, a convicted drug felon, during the Fast and Furious operation.

Last January, he and 19 others were indicted in the only criminal case to arise out of Fast and Furious.

According to ATF emails and a federal court affidavit, El Paso police officers tracking alleged drug smuggling from Mexico followed a dark blue Volkswagen Jetta as it backed into a garage at a residence on Jan. 13, 2010. The driver was identified as Alberto Sandoval. Police later searched the vehicle and found the weapons and other devices.

According to an email from ATF Special Agent Oscar B. Flores in El Paso, Sandoval told authorities that he was paid $1,000 "to store the firearms at his residence until they could be transported to the Republic of Mexico" by an unknown third party.

More emails discussing Sandoval's arrest and the recovery of the weapons were sent to Washington headquarters and Kenneth Melson, then the ATF acting director, and William J. Hoover, the assistant director.

Sandoval was indicted and pleaded guilty to weapons charges in May 2010 in U.S. District Court in El Paso. He was sentenced to 61/2 years in prison.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-atf-guns-20110929,0,1445444,print.story

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U.S. makes deported immigrants take the long way home

Officials expand a program to transfer detainees from one end of the U.S.-Mexico border to the other, saying it's a deterrent to further crossing attempts. Critics say it leaves immigrants vulnerable to crime.

by Richard Marosi, Los Angeles Times

September 29, 2011

Reporting from Mexicali, Mexico -- Luis Montes slipped across the Rio Grande and had started crawling through a field when a U.S. Border Patrol agent nabbed him. It was a Saturday and the 32-year-old illegal immigrant figured that by Sunday he would be deported back to Mexico, where he would promptly try again to cross into Texas.

Instead, Montes was put on a plane, flown halfway across the country and bused to the California-Mexico border. At 2 a.m. Tuesday, U.S. border authorities took off his handcuffs and escorted him to a gate leading to the desert city of Mexicali.

Montes was back in Mexico, but about 1,200 miles away from where he started.

"This is a great surprise," Montes said as he slipped on his shoes at the dimly lit border crossing.

Across the street, young men gathered outside seedy bars and around taco carts, and Montes wondered if Mexicali was as dangerous as other border cities. "Is there a lot of crime here?" he asked.

The once-confident immigrant was reduced to a bewildered traveler, a favorable outcome for U.S. border authorities under a rapidly expanding program that affects about one-fifth of all illegal immigrants arrested along the Southwest border.

Montes' deportation was handled through the Alien Transfer Exit Program, which tries to disrupt immigration patterns. For years, immigrants were deported across the border from where they were caught, a practice that allowed them to easily reconnect with smugglers who would try to bring them across again, sometimes within hours.

Under the transfer program, many immigrants who are caught in California are flown to Texas border cities, and the flights return west filled with immigrants caught in Texas. In Arizona, immigrant groups are divided, with some deported through Texas and others through California.

Critics view the expansion of the program with trepidation, saying it's costly, breaks up families and deports immigrants into lawless border cities where they are preyed on by criminal gangs. A group of 51 immigrants detained in New Mexico last summer protested their repatriation to northeast Mexico, where the feared Zetas organized crime group has kidnapped and massacred immigrants.

But U.S. border authorities said the program, which they say "breaks the smuggling cycle," has proved to be an effective deterrent. Disoriented and discouraged by the additional obstacles of crossing in an unfamiliar area, immigrants are more likely to give up and go home, authorities say.

The number of immigrants repatriated through the program has increased dramatically since its inception in 2008, from 8,931 to 72,154 this federal fiscal year, when it was expanded across the border. Authorities credit the program for contributing to the record decline in apprehensions along the Southwest border.

"It's another tool in our toolbox that helps deter people from trying again," said Bill Brooks, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which runs the program with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

When immigrants return to Mexico, their first calls are often to smugglers who house and feed them until the next crossing.

When Montes was deported to Mexicali last week, his first call was to his wife in Cuernavaca. He needed her to wire him some pesos for food.

Montes was among a group of 30 immigrants who found themselves in similar straits after reentering Mexico holding their meager belongings in plastic bags. They were all caught a few days earlier upon crossing the border near McAllen, Texas. After being flown to Yuma, Ariz., they were put on buses destined for the Calexico-Mexicali border.

None had ever been in Mexicali, the sprawling capital of Baja California. They laced up their shoes slowly, undecided about what to do next. Montes said he had arranged to pay $2,300 to a smuggling group in Reynosa, Mexico, to take him to Houston, where he would have worked in construction. Others had planned to go as far as Virginia and Ohio.

Their only destination this morning was a convenience store across the street, where they pooled their pesos to buy potato chips and tamales, which they shared under a streetlight.

None strayed from the group, well aware of the dangers that lurk in some border cities. In June, a group of immigrants at a New Mexico detention facility wrote letters asking not to be deported to northeastern states like Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon, where organized crime groups rival the power of local governments.

Gangs in those regions monitor the border crossings, waiting to pounce on deportees, according to some immigrants and advocacy groups. One immigrant interviewed in Mexicali said heavily armed gunmen tried to kidnap his friend earlier this year near the border crossing in Matamoros. People from Sinaloa, home to Mexico's most powerful organized crime group, are often targeted because they are assumed to be rivals of the Zetas, other immigrants said.

These reports, like many others regarding deportees, are unconfirmed. Researchers and human rights groups who have tried to document cases in the cities of Reynosa and Nuevo Laredo have been threatened, forcing them to stop their work.

U.S. officials said they are aware of the violent situation, and said they have stopped deporting immigrants with criminal records into Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso. But repatriations to other hot spots continue. The city of Mexicali, which has been largely spared gang wars, is relatively safe.

"The agency is not in the practice of allowing detainees to request repatriation to specific locations in Mexico," reads a statement from Immigration and Customs Enforcement given to No More Deaths, an Arizona-based immigrant rights group.

For border officials, the program's appeal seems obvious. Many of the immigrants deported to Mexicali on Sept. 20 showed up later that day at a government office where immigrants are given bus tickets to go home. U.S. officials said only about one-quarter of immigrants deported through the program are encountered again trying to cross the border.

Eliseo Jimenez, a skinny 20-year-old, painted a picture of just how grueling it is to overcome a distant deportation. After being caught near San Diego in August, he was flown to Texas and deported through Brownsville, the opposite end of the 2,000-mile border. He hitchhiked and walked back to Baja California, surviving an armed robbery and losing 15 pounds during the monthlong trip, he said.

When he finally reached Tijuana, he tried to cross the border and got caught again, he said. Jimenez and several other immigrants said the biggest challenge was finding smugglers they could trust in unfamiliar cities. Many stole their money, others worked with bandits and some were incompetent or fearful of being arrested.

"The smuggling guides we hired wouldn't even cross the border. They tried directing us using radios and cellphones," said Rigoberto Rosales, 30, who failed in three crossing attempts.

He and his friend had planned to pick crops in Salinas; instead they got a bus ticket to Guadalajara. "We're going home," Rosales said.

Montes also wasn't up for another attempt. A few hours after being repatriated, he and a dozen other immigrants boarded buses. He was heading home to Cuernavaca, but wouldn't concede defeat. "If someone is committed to crossing, this only makes it a little more difficult," he said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-immigrant-deport-20110930,0,4622192,print.story

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Judge blocks parts of tough Alabama immigration law

The 115-page ruling by U.S. District Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn came in response to a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit that challenged the constitutionality of the Alabama law on the grounds that it preempted federal immigration laws.

With appeals anticipated, Wednesday's ruling is unlikely to be the last word on the Alabama law, which was signed by Republican Gov. Robert J. Bentley in June. Known as HB 56, the legislation is widely considered the strictest among a group of similar bills passed by states frustrated with what they consider weak immigration enforcement by Washington.

Observers said Wednesday's decision could hasten a U.S. Supreme Court review of the new patchwork of state immigration laws, particularly because Blackburn's ruling differed from those of federal judges who enjoined Arizona and Georgia from enacting provisions of laws directing police to check the residency status of suspected illegal immigrants.

"It creates a conflict among lower courts, and that raises the probability that the Supreme Court will have to weigh in on it," said Peter Spiro, an immigration law expert at Temple University.

"It's now only a question of timing."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/

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Guantanamo prisoner faces charges in bombing of U.S. destroyer Cole

The Pentagon announced Wednesday that it has filed capital charges against a Saudi prisoner at Guantanamo Bay for his alleged role in plotting and orchestrating the 2000 terrorist attack on the Navy destroyer Cole as it refueled in a Yemeni harbor.

Abd al Rahim al Nashiri was one of 14 so-called high-value detainees moved from secret CIA-run interrogation sites in 2006 to the military detention facility on the U.S. Naval base in southern Cuba.

Nashiri is accused of choreographing the Cole attack that killed 17 U.S. sailors when suicide bombers rammed the destroyer with an explosives-laden motor boat. He was arrested in Dubai in 2002 and held for four years in an undisclosed location where, according to CIA documents, he was subjected to harsh interrogation tactics, including mock firing of a handgun at his temple and threatening him with a power drill.

Capital charges initially filed against the Saudi of Yemeni descent were dropped after government admissions that he had been subjected to "enhanced interrogation techniques," including the simulated drowning exercise known as waterboarding. The practice has been widely condemned by human rights activists as torture and forbidden under new detention and interrogation regulations drafted two years ago.

Previously unsealed intelligence documents allege that Nashiri supervised several terrorist plots against Western military targets on behalf of Al Qaeda and its late mastermind, Osama bin Laden.

The Pentagon's terse announcement that it had "referred" charges against Nashiri to a military commission for trial at the high-security naval base didn't address concerns that some of the evidence military prosecutors hope to use against the defendant may be inadmissible under the new tribunal regulations if deemed the product of torture.

Nashiri is the only Guantanamo prisoner facing a potential death sentence other than the five suspects in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks alleged to have been planned and carried out under Al Qaeda kingpin Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

Nashiri is to be arraigned at Guantanamo within 30 days of the delivery of charges to him, the Pentagon statement said.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/

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Immigration raids net 2,900 criminals in largest national crackdown

About 2,900 illegal immigrants with criminal records have been arrested in what authorities on Wednesday called the largest such nationwide crackdown.

The arrests, during the last seven days, came a month after the Obama administration announced that immigration officials would concentrate on finding and deporting serious criminals and delay deportation proceedings against non-criminals who do not pose a public safety threat.

Wednesday's announcement came on the day that President Obama told Latinos during a roundtable at the White House that he was still committed to comprehensive immigration reform, which he said had been prevented by Republican intransigence.

"We're a nation of laws, but we're also a nation of immigrants," Obama said at the forum for viewers of Yahoo! en Espanol, MSN Latino, AOL Latino and Huffington Post Latino Voices.

The latest arrests involved more than 1,900 agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement working with state and local officers across the country over the last week, part of an operation called "Cross Check." Officials said 2,901 illegal immigrants were arrested and all had at least one criminal conviction.

Of that group, at least 1,282 had been convicted of multiple charges and more than 1,600 had felony convictions including manslaughter, attempted murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, drug trafficking, child abuse, sexual crimes against minors, and aggravated assault, ICE said in a prepared statement. Forty-two were identified as gang members, the agency said.

In addition, 681 of those arrested were immigration fugitives who had previously been ordered to leave the country but failed to go. Additionally, 386 were illegal re-entrants who had been previously removed from the country multiple times.

Cases involving a least 146 of those arrested during the sweep were turned over to various U.S. attorneys for prosecution on a variety of charges including illegal re-entry after deportation, a felony which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, the agency stated.

Suspects were arrested in all 50 states and four U.S. territories, according to the statement.

"This is what we should be doing; this is good law enforcement," ICE director John Morton told a news conference. "It makes sense to be removing people who are committing crimes who are here illegally, first and foremost."

The Obama administration has been wrestling with immigration issues. On Wednesday, Obama again defended his administration's actions in tightening border security while increasing deportations.

In August, the Obama administration announced that it will review about 300,000 pending deportation cases to separate out non-criminals who do not pose a threat. Those individuals would be allowed to stay in the United States and apply for work permits. The government has also stepped up its efforts to deport those who have committed serious crimes.

Latinos represent a key voting bloc as the nation moves more deeply into the 2012 presidential election. While Obama and other Democrats have been the chief beneficiaries of Latino support, recent polls show that the backing has been softening.

Meanwhile, Republicans have also had their problems with immigration issues. Texas Gov. Rick Perry has been attacked by fellow conservatives for his support of a 2001 Texas law that allows undocumented immigrant children to pay in-state tuition rates at state universities if they meet some criteria. He has also argued that a physical fence at the border with Mexico wouldn't work.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who is running second to Perry in most national polls, backs a fence and opposes in-state tuition rates.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/

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From Google News

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New Jersey

Deficiency of community policing may have cost Trenton $20 million in aid

TRENTON — Eighteen of 105 laid-off city police officers will return to work Saturday thanks to one federal grant, but they could receive pink slips again in four to six months because the city was turned down this week for another multimillion-dollar award from the same program.

A federal Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant would have paid the salaries of 18 officers for three years, but cities, particularly Newark and Camden, and towns like Vineland and Buena Borough were chosen over Trenton to receive funding, federal officials confirmed yesterday. The city applied for the grant in May, when the 105 layoffs that were executed two weeks ago loomed.

“It's disheartening, it's very disheartening,” said George Dzurkoc, president of the Policemen's Benevolent Association local. “Even though it wouldn't have saved a large number of people, anything would have helped out.”

“We need the grant money,” Councilman George Muschal said. “We definitely need the money. We need the cops.”

Federal evaluators gave equal weight to the need for federal assistance as they did to crime rates and a community policing plan, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Applications were scored out of a total of 210 possible points. Trenton was graded at 169.77.

“They did everything they could have done, everything they were supposed to do, but a lot of agencies across the country are in the same situation,” said Corey Ray, a spokesman for the COPS program.

Camden received a grade of 200, while Newark was scored at 183.63, according to the Justice Department.

Trenton officials had been optimistic that the city would receive the new award. Previous COPS funding paid for the last police recruit class in 2009, and the remaining money from that grant will be combined with money saved from eight retirements to bring back the 18 officers on Saturday, Mayor Tony Mack's office announced.

Unfortunately for those officers, the three years of money provided by the first COPS grant runs out early next year. Police had hoped the new COPS award could have been used to keep those officers from being laid off.

New Jersey's elected officials blasted the decision and urged federal officials to reconsider. U.S. Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Bob Menendez, along with U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (D-Hopewell), sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder arguing that Trenton needs the funding and the officers.

“Cuts of this magnitude are of great concern to Trenton's 84,000 residents as well as the tens of thousands of State workers, commuters, businesses and visitors that come to our capital city every day,” the legislators wrote. “We have been contacted by many local leaders who have shared their grave concerns that the severity of the cuts to the Trenton Police force will lead to an increase in violent crime in our capital city, placing the remaining officers and the public at increased risk.”

State Sen. Shirley Turner called the decision “unfathomable.”

“How on earth is it possible that Trenton doesn't receive anything when the city just laid off over 100 police officers?” she asked in a prepared statement. “It would seem to me that this kind of program was perfectly suited to the current situation in our state's capital.

“Trenton is in desperate need of immediate help and was severely let down by our federal government,” Turner added. “To say I am disappointed by this decision would be the understatement of the year.”

Two towns received lower scores than Trenton and still were given funding. Buena Borough was scored at 153.36 and was given over $223,000 for one officer, while Burlington City garnered a 157.94 and will be able to hire two officers at $642,000.

Unlike previous years, federal evaluators placed a great deal of emphasis on the applicants' community policing plans, the COPS spokesman said.

“In a lot of years, it was, ‘Put in a lot of numbers and a score spits out,' ” Ray said. “This had more of a, ‘Tell us what your plan actually is.'

“And I think Trenton actually did very well themselves, it was just a question of not having enough money to cover every agency,” he said.

http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2011/09/deficiency_of_community_polici.html

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California

Tulare police awarded grants to help fight crime

The announcement was made Wednesday during a news conference in the Bay Area. Attending the conference were Tulare City Manager Don Dorman, Tulare Mayor Wayne Ross, Police Chief Jerry Breckinridge and police Capt. Wes Hensley.

"We are very pleased to be selected as a recipient of this grant," Breckinridge said.

There was $240 million available to be awarded and Tulare's request was fully granted.

"The fact that only 9 percent of the law enforcement agencies that applied for this grant were funded speaks highly of our work to improve the quality of life for our residents," Breckinridge said.

City officials said the grants are designed to help improve public safety with community policing. The grants will allow Tulare police to address issues such as street gangs, drugs and commercial policing, a new approach that calls for a partnership between police and business owners.

The department's community policing program was revived two years ago.

http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/article/20110929/NEWS01/109290303

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Connecticut

Bridgeport set to hire 20 police officers

"The addition of 20 new officers to the Bridgeport Police Department, thanks to this federal program, will enhance the department's community policing and overall crime prevention efforts," said Police Chief Joseph Gaudett.

The officers will serve as part of the city's Strategic Enforcement Team, which focuses on preventing and reducing teen, gang and drug-related crimes.

"This grant means 20 new cops on the street, 20 new jobs and a safer Bridgeport," said U.S. Rep. Jim Himes. "As tough economic times squeeze local police budgets and make it more difficult to keep crime rates low, this grant will help the Bridgeport Police Department protect our neighborhoods, families and businesses."

"We are very thankful to Congressman Himes' efforts in securing these funds, which will help improve public safety in our city," said Mayor Bill Finch. "We look forward to bringing in 20 new officers to protect and serve the residents of Bridgeport."

The city has seen a long-term decline in violent crime in recent years, but after dipping in 2009 the homicide total increased to 22 in 2010. On Tuesday, the city recorded its 15th homicide for the year when a woman was found dead in her Madison Avenue home.

http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Bridgeport-set-to-hire-20-police-officers-2193390.php

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California

Federal funds for cops

Stockton police, S.J. Sheriff's Office each receive millions in grant money

STOCKTON - More cops could soon be patrolling the streets of Stockton and roadways of San Joaquin County under a federal grant announced Wednesday.

The money is designed to bolster public safety in communities throughout the nation.

Stockton was awarded $7.8 million to put 17 police officers on the job for three years.

The U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services also granted $4.6 million to the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office to pay for 14 deputies, also for three years.

It couldn't have come at a better time, Stockton Mayor Ann Johnston said.

"It's very obvious we're one of the cities with a critical need for officers on the street," she said Wednesday before leaving to attend a ceremony in Sacramento announcing the grant awards.

It is unclear when Stockton will receive the money and how the city will use it. The need is clear.

Recently released FBI crime statistics showed that in 2010 Stockton residents experienced more violent crimes in every category from the year before.

That runs contrary to the national trends, which showed an overall a drop.

So far this year in Stockton 39 people have been slain, the same number as this time last year. In all of last year, 49 people were slain in Stockton.

Budget cuts over the past three years have whittled down the number of Stockton's sworn police officers from 441 to the currently budgeted 345. Salary cuts have driven officers away, and the city is trying to fill 23 vacant positions.

Johnston said she and other city leaders, on trips to Washington each year, have done their best to explain to federal government officials the plight of Stockton's violent crime problem.

"We did some heavy lobbying," she said. "I believe this is a pay off."

The funding requires cities to come up with matching funds for a fourth year, keeping sworn officers hired under the grant on for at least one additional year beyond the duration of the grant.

Nationally, the federal government awarded $243 million. In California, that figure amounted to $72 million.

In all, 23 police agencies in California received grants. Stockton and San Joaquin County ranked fifth and sixth statewide in the amount allocated. Sacramento, Oakland and Los Angeles ranked first, second and third respectively.

San Joaquin County Sheriff Steve Moore welcomed news of the grant to his department, which has lost 40 positions to attrition in three years.

That reduced the number of patrol cars he could assign to communities with crime problems, Moore said. The new funding will allow him to fill that need once again.

This is the second time his department has won a grant under this federal program. In 2009, the office received $5.1 million.

"I'm extremely grateful for that," Moore said. "I'm even prouder for staff to make a second run at this."

Contact reporter Scott Smith at (209) 546-8296 or ssmith@recordnet.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/smithblog.

Join Stockton city leaders for a discussion on combating crime in Stockton.

The Community Improvement and Crime Prevention Committee is scheduled to meet at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 4 in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 425 N. El Dorado St.

From the FBI

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Massachusetts Man Charged with Plotting Attack on Pentagon and U.S. Capitol and Attempting to Provide Material Support to a Foreign Terrorist Organization

Public Was Not in Danger from Explosive Devices, Which Were Controlled by Undercover FBI Employees

BOSTON—A 26-year-old Ashland man was arrested and charged today in connection with his plot to damage or destroy the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol, using large remote controlled aircraft filled with C-4 plastic explosives. Rezwan Ferdaus, a U.S. citizen, was also charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization, specifically to al Qaeda, in order to carry out attacks on U.S. soldiers stationed overseas.

“Our top priority is to protect our nation from terrorism and national security threats. The conduct alleged today shows that Mr. Ferdaus had long planned to commit violent acts against our country, including attacks on the Pentagon and our nation's Capitol. Thanks to the diligence of the FBI and our many other law enforcement partners, that plan was thwarted,” said U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz. “I want the public to understand that Mr. Ferdaus' conduct, as alleged in the complaint, is not reflective of a particular culture, community, or religion,” she added. “In addition to protecting our citizens from the threats and violence alleged today, we also have an obligation to protect members of every community, race, and religion against violence and other unlawful conduct.”

The public was never in danger from the explosive devices, which were controlled by undercover FBI employees (UCs). The defendant was closely monitored as his alleged plot developed and the UCs were in frequent contact with him.

Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Boston Division said, “Today's arrest was the culmination of an investigation forged through strong relationships among various Massachusetts law enforcement agencies to detect, deter, and prevent terrorism. Each of the more than 30 federal, state, and local agencies on the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) worked together to protect the community from this threat. In this particular investigation, the Worcester, Ashland, and Framingham Police Departments and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, played particularly critical roles. The communities of Worcester, Ashland, and Framingham should be proud of the unwavering commitment and professionalism the agencies demonstrated in ensuring that their towns and region were safe from harm. The Massachusetts State Police and the Commonwealth Fusion Center also contributed significantly to this investigation.”

“The FBI used an undercover operation to conduct this investigation. Undercover operations are used to combat all types of crimes and criminals, including in the counterterrorism arena.”

“The JTTF initiated this investigation because we have an obligation to take action to protect the public whenever an individual expresses a desire to commit violence. A committed individual, even one with no direct connections to, or formal training from, an international terrorist organization, can pose a serious danger to the community,” added DesLauriers. “It is important to remember that our system of justice is based on the notion of individual responsibility. Therefore, no one should cite Mr. Ferdaus' actions as an excuse or reason to engage in any unlawful behavior against others in the community. We will work diligently to protect the civil rights of all Americans.”

The affidavit alleges the following: Ferdaus, a Northeastern University graduate with a degree in physics, began planning to commit a violent “jihad” against the U.S. in early 2010. He obtained mobile phones, each of which he modified to act as an electrical switch for an IED. He then supplied the phones to FBI UCs, who he believed to be members of, or recruiters for, al Qaeda. According to the affidavit, Ferdaus believed that the devices would be used to kill American soldiers overseas. During a June 2011 meeting, he appeared gratified when he was told that his first phone detonation device had killed three U.S. soldiers and injured four or five others in Iraq. Ferdaus responded, “That was exactly what I wanted.”

According to the affidavit, after each subsequent delivery, Ferdaus was anxious to know how well each of his detonation devices had worked and how many Americans they had killed. During recorded conversations, Ferdaus stated that he devised the idea of attacking the Pentagon long before he met with the government's cooperating witness (CW) and UC, and that his jihad had, “started last year.”

In recorded conversations with the CW that began in January 2011, Ferdaus stated that he planned to attack the Pentagon using aircraft similar to “small drone airplanes” filled with explosives and guided by GPS equipment. According to the affidavit, in April 2011, Ferdaus expanded his plan to include an attack on the U.S. Capitol. In May and June 2011, Ferdaus delivered two thumb drives to the UCs, which contained detailed attack plans with step-by-step instructions as to how he planned to attack the Pentagon and Capitol. The plans included using three remote controlled aircraft and six people, including himself, whom he described as an “amir,” i.e., an Arabic term meaning leader.

During various recorded meetings, Ferdaus envisioned causing a large “psychological” impact by killing Americans, including women and children, who he referred to as “enemies of Allah.” According to the affidavit, Ferdaus' desire to attack the United States is so strong that he confided, “I just can't stop; there is no other choice for me.”

In May 2011, Ferdaus traveled from Boston to Washington, D.C., conducted surveillance and took photographs of his targets (Pentagon and Capitol), and identified and photographed sites at the East Potomac Park from which he planned to launch his aircraft filled with explosives. Upon his return, Ferdaus told the UC that “more stuff ha[d] to be done,” that his plan needed to be expanded, and that he had decided to couple his “aerial assault” plan with a “ground directive.” Ferdaus indicated that his ground assault plan would involve the use of six people, armed with automatic firearms and divided into two teams. Ferdaus described his expanded attack as follows:

...with this aerial assault, we can effectively eliminate key locations of the P-building then we can add to it in order to take out everything else and leave one area only as a squeeze where the individuals will be isolated, they'll be vulnerable and we can dominate.

Once isolated, Ferdaus planned to “open up on them” and “keep firing” to create “chaos” and “take out” everyone. He also provided the expanded plan to the UC on a thumb drive.

Between May and September 2011, Ferdaus researched, ordered and acquired the necessary components for his attack plans, including one remote controlled aircraft (F-86 Sabre). This morning prior to his arrest, Ferdaus received from the UCs 25 pounds of (what he believed to be) C-4 explosives, six fully-automatic AK-47 assault rifles (machine guns) and grenades. In June 2011, Ferdaus rented a storage facility in Framingham, Mass., under a false name, to use to build his attack planes and maintain all his equipment.

According to the affidavit, in August 2011, the F-86 remote controlled aircraft was delivered to the Framingham storage facility. Ferdaus delivered a total of eight detonation devices to the UCs over the course of the investigation, which he built with the intention that they be used by al Qaeda operatives overseas to kill U.S. soldiers. On September 20, 2011 Ferdaus made a training video, which he provided to the UCs, demonstrating how to make “cell phone detonators.”

According to the affidavit, at today's meeting the UCs allowed Ferdaus to inspect the explosives and firearms (a quantity of C-4 explosives, three grenades, and six fully-automatic AK-47 assault rifles) that the UCs delivered, and that Ferdaus had requested for his attack plan. After inspecting the components, Ferdaus brought them to his storage unit, took possession of the explosives and firearms, and locked them in his storage unit. Ferdaus was then immediately arrested.

Although Ferdaus was presented with multiple opportunities to back out of his plan, including, being told that his attack would likely kill women and children, the affidavit alleges that Ferdaus never wavered in his desire to carry out the attacks.

If convicted, Ferdaus faces up to 15 years in prison on the material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization charge; up to 20 years in prison on the charge of attempting to destroy national defense premises; and a five-year minimum mandatory in prison and up to 20 years on the charge of attempting to damage and destroy buildings that are owned by the United States, by using an explosive. On each charge Ferdaus also faces up to three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

The case was investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the Worcester, Ashland and Framingham Police Departments and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms ,and Explosives.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys B. Stephanie Siegmann and Donald L. Cabell of Ortiz's Anti-Terrorism and National Security Unit.

The details contained in the complaint are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

http://www.fbi.gov/boston/press-releases/2011/massachusetts-man-charged-with-plotting-attack-on-pentagon-and-u.s.-capitol-and-attempting-to-provide-material-support-to-a-foreign-terrorist-organization

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