New York Bomb-Plotter’s Father Hid Evidence, Lawyer Says as Trial Closes
A U.S. citizen from Afghanistan hid evidence of, and lied to investigators about, his son’s failed plot to bomb New York City’s subways in 2009, a prosecutor said at the close of the father’s trial.
“The evidence has shown that the defendant did everything he could to manipulate the system to get what he wanted,” which was to protect his son, his family and himself, Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Marrus said in her closing argument today in federal court in Brooklyn, New York.
Prosecutors allege Mohammed Wali Zazi, 55, directed family family members to destroy evidence, including glasses, masks, liquid chemicals and containers, that was part of the probe into his son and that he lied to agents looking into the subway plot.
His son, Najibullah Zazi, pleaded guilty in February 2010 to supporting al-Qaeda and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction in a plot to detonate bombs on New York subways around the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
A co-conspirator, Zarien Ahmedzay, pleaded guilty to his role in the foiled plot in April 2010. Ahmedzay and Najibullah Zazi face life in prison.
A third man, Adis Medunjanin, pleaded not guilty in August 2010 to participating in the plot.
The elder Zazi, a former New York City taxi driver who lives in the Denver area, was charged with two counts of obstruction of justice and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice.
‘Not Guilty’
“Mr. Zazi is not guilty of those crimes,” Deborah A. Colson, one of his lawyers, said in her closing argument today. “He didn’t destroy evidence or tell anyone else to.”
Colson said Zazi’s nephew and brother-in-law, who pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice under cooperation agreements and testified for the government, were responsible for the wrongdoing.
The jury is scheduled to begin its deliberations tomorrow. The trial began July 18.
Naqib Jaji, Mohammed Wali Zazi’s brother-in-law, testified that in July 2009 Najibullah Zazi left chemicals, including bleach and nail-polish remover, in the garage of Jaji’s house in Aurora, Colorado, where Najibullah was living. Najibullah told Jaji he planned to use them to make a fertility drug, Jaji testified.
Amanullah Zazi, the nephew, testified that he went to Jaji’s house to participate in a cover-up of bomb-making equipment, acting under orders of the elder Zazi.
Chemicals Destroyed
“The defendant is the one who ordered that the chemicals be destroyed,” Marrus said.
Colson said the government didn’t present enough evidence linking Zazi to the evidence destruction.
The prosecutors are “arguing because his family members did something wrong, he did something wrong too,” Colson said. “Naqib wanted his cooperation agreement and he had to serve somebody up.”
Prosecutors said Mohammed Wali Zazi lied to investigators when he said he didn’t speak with an imam, who was also a police informant, about a trip Najibullah Zazi took to New York. The jurors heard evidence of four phone conversations Mohammed Wali Zazi and the imam had in September 2009.
“He knew he had talked to someone in New York about what his son was up to,” Marrus said.
The defendant also lied when he said his nephew, who investigators were looking into, was his adopted son, the government said.
Colson said Zazi viewed Amanullah as a son and paid for some of his education. She said what the government called lies were the results of misunderstandings.
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: Thom Weidlich in Brooklyn, New York, federal court at tweidlich@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net.
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