Sep 21, 2009 7:13 pm US/Eastern
Feds Have Outline Of Terror Plot, But No Evidence
Queens Imam Afzali Appears Before Judge In Brooklyn Court
Reporting
Lou Young
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Ahmed Afzali, 37, the imam at the Islamic Center in Flushing, Queens, has been accused of double-crossing the FBI by agreeing to get information of suspected terrorist Najibullah Zazi, but then warning him instead.
CBS
Federal investigators detailed their case Monday against the three suspects named in a nationwide terror investigation.
One of the suspects, a Queens man, appeared in federal court in Brooklyn, while two more, a father and son, faced a judge in Denver.
This case isn't about who the feds have in custody; it's about persons unknown they are still looking for. The feds have an outline of a plot, but no physical evidence that the public is aware of. The three suspects they have in custody they hope can tell them more.
He is 37-year-old Ahmed Afzali. He's charged with lying to federal agents trying to unravel the terror plot centered on Najibullah Zazi, the Colorado airport shuttle driver now in custody.
In essence, the feds are blaming Afzali for tipping off Zazi to their investigation, but Zazi apparently knew the feds were looking at him. Afzali's attorney said his attorney is, in fact, a scapegoat being blamed for a federal investigation that didn't go where it was supposed to.
"He provided all of the assistance he could," attorney Ron Kuby said. "He provided all the cooperation he could. He gave multiple statements and now that this investigation has, after two weeks, yielded absolutely nothing the government wants somebody to blame for the fact that they haven't caught any terrorists."
So far the case surrounds 24-year-old Zazi, who has been to Pakistan and who informants tell federal agent trained at al-Qaida military camps.
His father, Mohammed, is accused of lying to protect him. It's the same type of charge lodged against Afzali in Brooklyn federal court.
People who know Afzali said he's low-key guy and an unlikely terrorist.
"He's a very nice person," mosque member Abdulrahman Jalil told CBS 2 HD. "And whenever someone dies, he takes care of it."
Afzali insists he's never been to Pakistan, but has been to Saudi Arabia to make the Hajj. He and Mohammed Zazi both have bail hearings in federal court on Thursday.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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