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May 8, 2007 10:00 pm US/Eastern
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N.J. Military Community On Edge After Plot Foiled
Feds Use Son Of Pizzeria Owner As Informant
by Jay Dow
CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS) ―
The terror plot against Fort Dix is sending shock waves through a stunned New Jersey military community.
The suspects needed an inside man, someone with knowledge and access to Fort Dix. So you can imagine how residents here in Wrightstown and neighboring Cookstown reacted when word came down that the insider -- one of the key suspects -- was the son of a local pizzeria owner.
"I was shocked," Cookstown resident Dave Jones said. "And I'm glad they caught them because like I said next week is the air show, and the base is open to everybody."
Serdar Tatar's father owns Super Mario Pizzeria. Investigators said the 23-year-old used to deliver food at Fort Dix. He allegedly provided a map of the base so his accomplices could target one of the buildings deep inside. They hoped to cause a power outage that would allow for an easier attack.
In the complaint, Tatar allegedly stated: "I'm gonna do it. It doesn't matter to me whether I get locked up, arrested, or get taken away. It doesn't matter. I'm gonna do it in the name of Allah."
Said National Guardsmen David Cohen: "You just have to really be mindful and aware of your surroundings. Because that's just how it is now. It's 2007, and it could be your next-door neighbor."
Muslim Tatar, the suspect's father, who is of Turkish decent, would not talk to CBS 2 HD.
But we found a Fort Dix temporary visitor's pass in his SUV.
Super Mario Pizzeria chef said none of that matters. He told CBS 2 HD in the last eight months he's never seen Serdar Tatar -- his boss' son -- deliver food to Fort Dix -- or anywhere else.
"You'd see him once a month," Joseph Hufflinger said. "He'd come in on Sunday, have breakfast. That's it."
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)