A Tunisian who “radicalized” a Canadian man suspected of plotting to derail a New York-to-Toronto train scammed his way into the United States, the feds say, in a bid to commit more acts of terrorism — including the use of bacteria to kill up to 100,000 people.
The FBI busted Ahmed Abassi, 26, at JFK Airport last month, on the same day that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police charged two men with plotting to derail a Canada-bound Amtrak train from Penn Station.
But authorities didn’t announce Abassi’s arrest until yesterday, with court papers saying he had waived his Miranda rights and “was questioned on a near-daily basis” by members of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force for a week after getting nabbed.
According to the feds, Abassi arrived in New York from Canada in mid-March with plans to recruit like-minded evildoers and perpetrate US terror plots in the United States.
“What Mr. Abassi didn’t know was that one of his associates, privy to the details of his plan, . . . was an undercover FBI agent,” said FBI New York Assistant Director-in-Charge George Venizelos.
A Manhattan federal-court filing says Abassi and the agent met in New York City with one of the alleged train plotters, Chiheb Esseghaier, who took terror training overseas after being “radicalized” by Abassi.
During discussions, Esseghaier allegedly outlined terror schemes that Abassi said “were good, but the time was not right.”
“The defendant noted that he had suggested an alternative plot — contaminating the air or water with bacteria in order to kill up to 100,000 people — but that Esseghaier was dismissive of that plan,” court papers state.
In addition to discussing “his desire to engage in terrorist acts against targets in the United States and other countries,” Abassi allegedly said he wanted help fund and support terror groups including the al Nusra Front, which the feds say is another name for al Qaeda in Iraq.
He also suggested “that they help Muslims fighting in Syria by sending money or weapons,” court papers say.
During an April 12 meeting, Abassi allegedly discussed obtaining a work visa to remain in the United States, purportedly to work for a company run by the undercover agent, but really “to engage in ‘projects’ relating to future terrorist activities, including recruitment.”
After that meeting, the feds say he lied on applications for a green card and a work visa and mailed them to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services for processing.
He’s charged with two counts of making false statements in order to facilitate an act of international terrorism, each of which carries a maximum 25 years in the slammer.
The feds are also considering an additional charge related to allegedly false statements Abassi made after his arrest, when he claimed to work for the undercover agent’s company and “denied any knowledge of terrorist plots being planned by Esseghaier,” court papers say.