U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon ordered the release of James Cromitie, a man previously convicted in a post-9/11 terrorist operation, and sharply criticized the FBI's reliance on a controversial informant in what she called an “FBI conspiracy.” The Associated Press reported.
The ruling focuses on a plot to attack synagogues in New York and shoot down National Guard planes, a plan the judge said was largely the work of the FBI itself.
Cromitie, 58, was granted compassionate release on Friday, completing 15 years of a 25-year sentence. His release follows the release of his three co-defendants, known collectively as the Newburgh Four, who were similarly released six months earlier.
The group, which hails from Newburgh, a small city 60 miles north of New York City, was convicted on terrorism charges in 2010. However, the case has since remained mired in controversy, with accusations of entrapment and trespass by federal agents.
According to a 2011 Department of Justice press release:
Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that James Cromitie, David Williams, and Onta Williams were each sentenced today to 25 years in prison for plotting to bomb synagogues in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, New York. New York, and used Stinger surface-to-air guided missiles to shoot down military aircraft stationed at the New York Air National Guard Base at Stuart Airport in Newburgh, New York. The defendants were convicted in October 2010 after a two-month jury trial. U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon presided over the trial and handed down today's sentences.
“James Cromitie, David Williams, and Onta Williams voluntarily agreed to target synagogues and military aircraft using what they believed were real bombs and missiles,” said U.S. Attorney in Manhattan Preet Bharara. As reflected in Judge McMahon's rulings, these were extremely serious crimes targeting New York and its citizens. Today's sentences ensure that the defendants are punished for their actions.
Prosecutors said the defendants spent months planning their attack, purchasing what they believed were explosives and a surface-to-air missile. Their intended targets were allegedly the Air National Guard Base in Newburgh and synagogues in the Bronx. The arrests were made after they allegedly planted bombs that, without their knowledge, contained inert explosives provided by the FBI.
In her scathing ruling, Judge McMahon stated that the FBI not only created the conspiracy, but also selected the targets. She expressed that without FBI coordination, Cromitie and his co-defendants would not have been able to conceive of such a complex plot, let alone carry it out.
Furthermore, McMahon criticized the government's choice of informant, Shaheed Hussein, whom she described as a “villain” who sought to exploit “the poorest and weakest men” to commit a far-fetched crime in exchange for money.
Hussein's credibility had previously been questioned due to his involvement in other controversial operations.
He gained renewed attention in 2018 when a limousine owned by his company was involved in an accident in Schoharie, New York, killing 20 people. His son, Noman Hussein, was convicted of manslaughter in connection with the incident.
Cromitie's attorney, Kerry Lawrence, expressed his satisfaction with the ruling, reiterating his belief that the government is trapping Cromitie. As the family rejoiced at the news, Lawrence maintained that the conviction was entirely the result of government manipulation.
“Obviously I'm thrilled that Mr. Cromitie has been released from prison, but I still believe his conviction was entirely the result of a government trap,” Lawrence told the AP.
“Given that he was stalked and manipulated by government informants more than any of the other defendants previously ordered released, it would have been shocking if Judge McMahon had not granted our request.”
This is the same corrupt agency that planned the bogus Whitmer kidnapping plot. The entire conspiracy was orchestrated, planned, paid for and executed by paid FBI informants. FBI informants pushed the violent plans to kidnap Whitmer. It was all just setup.
At a press conference in October 2020, the FBI announced that it had foiled a plot by a so-called “right-wing militia” to kidnap and kill Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
The plot to kidnap Whitmer was all over the media 24/7 and was used to bash Trump with just weeks to go until Election Day.
It was later revealed that the plot involved a group of men who liked to shoot guns and discuss how bad the governor's condition was, and once they drove past her house.
The case collapsed when it turned out that the number of FBI informants and undercover agents among the conspirators was the same as the number of alleged conspirators, and in each case it was the FBI inciting the conspirators to commit acts of violence.
The FBI also funded the operation. The FBI used at least 12 informants in the Whitmer kidnapping case in Michigan.
Six defendants and 12 FBI informants were identified as the case progressed.
Last year, three Michigan men were acquitted in an FBI conspiracy.
The FBI planned and organized the Whitmer attack, paid for the attack, and recruited local men to join the planned attack.
It was another complete setup by Chris and Ray's FBI to frame and destroy innocent men.
The case, which we now know involved almost all FBI agents and informants, was dealt another devastating blow in August.
Michael Hills, an attorney for Brandon Caserta, one of the six defendants, produced text messages showing an FBI field agent asking an informant to lie, frame an innocent man, and delete the text messages.
An FBI agent admitted during testimony that she slept in the same hotel room, and the same bed, during a training weekend with FBI target Barry Croft. She went the extra mile to get her man!
And…she also smoked pot with him.
“Sometimes informants have to cooperate,” the FBI agent told the court.
