By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
The last of four men –Laguerre Payen — was sentenced Thursday in Manhattan Federal Court to 25 years in prison for his role in an FBI sting that involved plotting to bomb Bronx synagogues and shoot down U.S. military planes, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.
Specifically, authorities say he was involved in plots to bomb synagogues in the Riverdale section of the Bronx and use to use Stinger surface-to-air guided missiles to shoot down military planes at the New York Air National Guard Base at Stewart Airport in Newburgh, N.Y.
The case came as a result of the FBI putting up an informant in in 2008 assigned an informant to infiltrate a mosque in Newburgh, N.Y.
Lawyers for the defendants claimed the men were entrapped by the paid informant. In the end, the men planted fake bombs supplied by the FBI in 2009.
Payen was convicted along with his three co-defendants James Cromitie, David Williams, and Onta Williams in October 2010 after a two-month jury trial.
“Laguerre Payen was a willing participant in a plot to use bombs and missiles to target New York synagogues and U.S. military planes,” U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement. “Although these weapons were fake, the defendant believed they were real, and today’s sentence underscores the gravity of these crimes.”
