Defense Grills Informant At Bronx Terror Plot Trial

NEW YORK (AP) -- A paid FBI informant has testified about coaxing an alleged bomber into trying to attack New York synagogues.

On cross-examination Tuesday, Shahad Hussain told a Manhattan jury that he bought meals and paid rent for James Cromitie.

Hussain also testified that he falsely promised to make Cromitie "the happiest man on planet earth" if he completed his mission. The informant was posing as a representative of a Pakistani terrorist organization.

Cromitie and three other men are accused of plotting to blow up two synagogues in the Bronx and shoot down planes at a Newburgh, N.Y., base. They were arrested last year in an elaborate sting operation.

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