New York ‘lone wolf’ was one hour away from finishing his bomb
She also praised the New York Police Department, saying, “I think they handled it well.”
Officials with the NYPD, which conducted the undercover investigation using a confidential informant and a bugged apartment, said the department had to move quickly because Pimentel was about to test a pipe bomb made out of match heads, nails and other ingredients bought at neighborhood hardware and discount stores.
Two law enforcement officials said Monday that the NYPD’s Intelligence Division had sought to get the FBI involved at least twice as the investigation unfolded. Both times, the FBI concluded that Pimentel lacked the mental capacity to act on his own, they said.
The FBI thought Pimentel “didn’t have the predisposition or the ability to do anything on his own,” one of the officials said.
The officials were not authorized to speak about the case and spoke on condition of anonymity. The FBI’s New York office and the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan both declined to comment on Monday.
Pimentel’s lawyer, Joseph Zablocki, said his client was never a true threat.
“If the goal here is to be stopping terror … I’m not sure that this is where we should be spending our resources,” he said.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly defended the handling of the case Monday, saying the NYPD kept federal authorities in the loop “all along” before circumstances forced investigators to take swift measures using state charges.
“No question in my mind that we had to take this case down,” Kelly said. “There was an imminent threat.”
Added Kelly: “This is a classic case of what we’ve been talking about �� the lone wolf, an individual, self-radicalized. This is the needle in the haystack problem we face as a country and as a city.”
Authorities described Pimentel as an unemployed U.S. citizen and “al-Qaida sympathizer” who was born in the Dominican Republic. He had lived most of his life in Manhattan, aside from about five years in the upstate city of Schenectady, where authorities say he had an arrested for credit card fraud.
His mother said he was raised Roman Catholic. But he converted to Islam in 2004 and went by the name Muhammad Yusuf, authorities said.
Using a tip from police in Albany, the NYPD had been watching Pimentel using a confidential informant for the past year. Investigators learned that he was energized and motivated to carry out his plan by the Sept. 30 killing of al-Qaida’s U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, police said.
Pimentel was under constant surveillance as he shopped for the pipe bombmaterials. He also was overheard talking about attacking police patrol cars and postal facilities, killing soldiers returning home from abroad andbombing a police station in Bayonne, N.J., authorizes said.
Bush's new "Snoop" Executive act
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Its offical, Bush has thrown the Constitution out the door. His newest Execututive act is starting a program to pay Postmen, Cableguys, Meter Readers, ect to snoop around the houses they could easily get access to, and report any suspicious information. Over a million people in 10 cities in America will be employed in this “experiment”. The information will be stored in a huge database and will be used by the FBI and CIA to fight terrorism.
Simple enough, this violates my 4th Amendment(sp) rights. If this act is not repealed, your going to see Critics, Minority Leaders, Muslims, Athiests, and others arrested on Shaky evidence.
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I’ll have to look into this more before I can make a decision on the infringement of Constitutional Rights. But as it appears Bush had goofed up again, no? :roll:
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Simple enough, this violates my 4th Amendment(sp) rights. If this act is not repealed, your going to see Critics, Minority Leaders, Muslims, Athiests, and others arrested on Shaky evidence.don’t forget Communist
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Why the hell would he arrest atheists?
I am against the arbritrary arrest of all the parties except for Communists. I think they should be rounded up and sent to work camps.
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… what kind of fool are you ? Communist are’nt as dangerous as a lot of people, the fact you think they are wrong does not give you the right to say such thing nor the right to send them to work camp.
you are fool
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LOL! I knew that would get on Fisternis’ nerves.
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Well I’ve only got one comment on this: When that cable guy comes snooping around my house, we’ll see if his constitutional right to snoop stacks up against my constitutional right to bear arms…
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Why the hell would he arrest atheists?
I am against the arbritrary arrest of all the parties except for Communists. I think they should be rounded up and sent to work camps.
Those capitalist pigs in Washington will conjure up any excuse to try to silence the truth of the proletariat. How are the Communist less dangerous than the KKK or the MNH? But I will glady work in a prison camp to stand in for what I believe in - those capitalist will never break me! 8)
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I am saying that this act opens the floodgates to destroying our constitution. President Bush is becoming a Dictator more every day, Congress is afraid to speak out against him, he can incriminate pretty much anyone he wants with his incredibly unconstitutional new laws.
For example, 36 people arrested after the 9/11 attacks are still in jail. Ok, big deal right? These 36 people I am mentioning are American Citizens who have not been charged with a crime. They do not have access to a Lawyer. They do not have the right to a trial. In fact, no evidence has to be present against them.
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“For example, 36 people arrested after the 9/11 attacks are still in jail. Ok, big deal right? These 36 people I am mentioning are American Citizens who have not been charged with a crime. They do not have access to a Lawyer. They do not have the right to a trial. In fact, no evidence has to be present against them.”
Yes, I did find it racist and culturally bias for the Bush Administration (and the FBI) to infringe on the rights of those US Citizens totally innocent of any misconduct or wrongdoing.
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You’ve got to understand that from Jeffereson’s point of view, the national income tax would be a big violation of Constitutuional rights.
I don’t like the snooping either, but 1) they aren’t doing anything they didn’t do anyway, and 2) Dictator? Come on.
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I’m with yourbuttocks on this one. I wouldn’t call him a dictator. (Dicatator?…you’ve got to be kidding me.)
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Did I say he was a Dictator? I said he was becoming more and more a Dictator every day. Between this new act and the Patriat Act he has violated at least 4 Amendments to the bill of rights. Why has he done this? People are afraid to challenge him in the congress. He is going to attack Iraq, whether or not Congress gives him a Declaration of war.
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“He is going to attack Iraq”
Don’t worry, I suspect this won’t happen until his 3rd year, probably 4th. I have a feeling he wants to same “glory” that his old man recieved during Desert Storm. By attacking Iraq later than sonner, it would make his position stronger for the 2004 campaign re-election.
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All the while feeding us propoganda about why we are attacking Iraq and how the partisan Congress shouldn’t stand in his way :)
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Well, that’s how the political machine works. Don’t worry, I’m sure Bush will be able to weave up some lies and make it look like it was Iraq who started it. Then he can make himself look like a “Defender against Terrorism” and get reelected – as someone behind the scenes, that’s the way I’d do it. How the Mexican-American War started?
“I begin by taking. I shall find scholars later to demonstrate my perfect right.”
- Frederick (II) the Great
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You people seem to forget there is a war of sorts going on, but we all have short term memories.
During World War I and II, some people had to be arrested in ways that could of been “unconstitutional.” People still arrested, Saudis to Israelis, might have connections with 9-11 and are still needed for detainment.
I happen to agree with Bush on this one. Certain measures have to be taken to take out terrorist cells. Spy on me, what will they find? I don’t even download porn on my harddrive :) It is not like people are going to tear up peoples houses for their marijuana. They are just reporting suspicious activities.
Now the REAL dictator was FDR. Luckily he died before he was in there too long.
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All the while feeding us propoganda about why we are attacking Iraq and how the partisan Congress shouldn’t stand in his way :)
Yanny: “Go Gore in '04. He won’t sell us to foreign special interests!”
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with the Iraqy coalition looking to unseat Saddam right now, will it be necessary for Bush to make any kind of miltaro-political move in Iraq?
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“Go Gore in '04. He won’t sell us to foreign special interests!”
Ha, good one Horten. :wink: But I prefer “Gore for '04 - Worst President EVER” (Of course, I’m a Republican… so what should I know? :roll:)
“with the Iraqy coalition looking to unseat Saddam right now, will it be necessary for Bush to make any kind of miltaro-political move in Iraq?”
You betcha. It worked in Afgan, I predict it’ll also work here.
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