NEW YORK, NY – MAY 12: Would-be terror suspects Mohamed Mamdouh, 20, (PICTURED) and Ahmed Ferhani, 26, (NOT PICTURED) stand before a judge during their arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court May 12, 2011 in New York City. The men allegedly attempted to buy guns and grenades and considered a synagogue terror attack in a sting operated by the NYPD. (Photo by Lucas Jackson-Pool/Getty Images)
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) – A man accused of plotting to bomb a New York City synagogue says he is innocent, and blames his legal troubles on being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Ahmed Ferhani, 26, and Mohammed Mamdouh, 20, were arrested Wednesday night for allegedly plotting to blow up area synagogues and possibly the Empire State Building.
But in an interview published by the New York Daily News Saturday, Mamdouh said he had, “nothing to do” with the reputed bombing plot by his co-defendant, Ferhani.
Authorities said Ferhani was the alleged mastermind of the plot to obtain weapons and attack synagogues and apparently recruited Mamdouh to the cause.
Police commissioner Ray Kelly said that Ferhani and Mamdouh were “motivated to a great extent by a pathological hatred of Jewish people.”
But Mamdough now says he had no problems with Jews or anyone else and just had the bad luck of being around when an undercover police officer overheard Ferhani talking about blowing up buildings.
”I never spoke about guns and blowing things up, either,” Mamdouh said. “That was him. It was all his idea. I had nothing to do with any of it.”
The arrest of the two men came on Wednesday evening as police surrounded a car occupied by Ferhani and an undercover detective.
The last thing Ferhani said before his arrest was that he wanted to buy more handguns, silencers, a box of hand grenades, bullet-resistant vests and police radios.
NEW YORK, NY - MAY 12: Confiscated weapons lay on a table during a news conference about the break-up of a suspected terror plot against New York synagogues on May 12, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
12 Comments
This is yet another example of liberal idiotology, so now we waste Tax payer moneys make a media circus and create a muslim pity pep rally, if we had a pair in this country we would not hold a civil court trial but a military firing squad n thats how you deal with muslim arses YOU SHOOT THEM.
May 15, 2011 at 9:07 am
Maybe Mohammed Mamdouh is innocent, but I think the NYPD got Ahmed Ferhani dead to rights!
May 15, 2011 at 1:22 am
haha that made me laugh
May 14, 2011 at 3:36 pm
To all of you who post how much you dislike, distrust and hate the United States: LEAVE IMMEDIATELY. Nobody will stop you.
May 14, 2011 at 2:14 pm
I don’t know If I was innocent I would immediately take a lie detector test to prove my innocence.
May 14, 2011 at 1:43 pm
its pointless cause a lie detector is not valid in court so its for nothing
May 14, 2011 at 11:09 pm
This society isn’t noble. How can a society like the USA be Noble when it was founding theft, slavery and murder and the constitution that supports it was written by some non-universal minded whom are praised as great when in fact they were pieces of S#!T and supported Slavery. You people are blind.
May 14, 2011 at 1:09 pm
You are a true moron. Please go back to your closet and finish spanking yourself.
May 14, 2011 at 1:34 pm
if you hate america why are you here? please escort yourself on the next flight to anywhere but america
May 16, 2011 at 10:20 pm
Please the USA and go to Iran or Pakistan where you will be happy.
May 14, 2011 at 12:56 pm
wait till manhattan DA office gets this …they will end up being the masterminds behind 911
May 14, 2011 at 12:41 pm
Perhaps give him benefit of doubt after due diligence.
Then he and many other disgruntles people will profoundly appreciate
our noble Society!
May 14, 2011 at 12:19 pm