Father of New York Bomb-Plotter Najibullah Zazi Hid Evidence, U.S. Says
An Afghan living in Colorado hid evidence of his son’s failed plot to bomb New York City’s subways, obstructing a “frantic” effort to stop the attack in 2009, lawyers for the U.S. said as a trial started in New York.
In opening arguments in Brooklyn Federal Court, lawyers for Mohammed Wali Zazi, 55, said he didn’t know of his son’s plans, and was the victim of family members who sought to obscure their own role in the plot.
Zazi has pleaded not guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice. His son, Najibullah Zazi, pleaded guilty in February 2010 to supporting al-Qaeda and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction. The plot, which he called a “martyrdom operation” was planned for around the 2009 anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Zazi stood in the way of the FBI’s investigation into his son in by destroying chemicals and goggles and lying about communications with an imam in Queens, Andrew Goldsmith, a lawyer for the U.S. told the jury today.
“In September 2009, as the FBI was frantically trying to stop a New York City attack, that man decided to stand in the FBI’s way,” Goldsmith said. He told the jury they would see “Najibullah Zazi’s bomb-making recipe and hear evidence about chemicals found in the drains of Mohammed Zazi’s house.”
Former Taxi Driver
Zazi, a former New York City taxi driver who worked hard to live the American dream and support his children, took his own son to the FBI upon learning of an investigation, and was the victim of other family members who turned against him, said Justine Harris, a lawyer for Zazi.
“This is a painful story of a family put under intense pressure,” she said. Naqib Jaji, Zazi’s brother-in-law who lived with Najibullah in Denver at the house where he had bomb- making chemicals, and Amanullah Zazi, the elder Zazi’s nephew, “turned on Mr. Zazi,” in order to keep themselves out of jail, Harris said.
Amanullah Zazi testified that he went to Naqib’s apartment to participate in a cover-up of bomb-making equipment, acting under the orders of the elder Zazi. After arranging to meet other family members by using “pick up the medicine” as a code phrase for destroying bomb-making chemicals, Amanullah said he watched two other family members dispose of chemicals from the garage in an upstairs bathroom as a bleach smell filled the home. When he couldn’t break a measuring cup that had been used with the chemicals, he suggested it be used for laundry detergent.
Equipment Disposal
Amanullah said it was his idea to dispose of some of the equipment in a dumpster by putting it in a book bag, driving around and shopping to distract anyone monitoring them from the disposal. He also said he helped connect Najibullah for “training” in Waziristan, despite what he had earlier told authorities.
Zarien Ahmedzay, charged as a co-conspirator, pleaded guilty to his role in the foiled subway plot in April 2010. Ahmedzay said he and co-defendants received weapons training in the Waziristan region of Pakistan. A third man, Adis Medunjanin, pleaded not guilty in August 2010 to participating in the subway plot.
The case is U.S. v. Zazi, 1:10-cr-60, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn).
To contact the reporter on this story: Tiffany Kary in New York at tkary@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Pickering at jpickering@bloomberg.net
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