Bomb plot informant testifies against uncle

The father of subway bomb plotter Najibullah Zazi ordered a cover-up by family members in 2009 as the FBI closed in, a relative testified Monday as Mohammed Zazi's obstruction of justice trial opened.

"If anybody asks questions, tell them we don't know nothing," the Zazi clan patriarch ordered, according to testimony from his nephew Amanullah Zazi.

The nephew, however, also revealed that he played a key role in the plot, and faces up to 30 years in prison for connecting his cousin Najibullah with an al-Qaida training camp in Pakistan, where the plot was hatched in 2008.

Mohammed Wali Zazi, 55, a former Queens taxi driver, is charged with conspiring to get rid of chemicals and other equipment, lying to the FBI and urging other family members to lie when his son's plot to attack the New York City subways was uncovered in 2009.

The son, Najibullah Zazi, pleaded guilty in 2010 to planning an attack with two other men after visiting the al-Qaida training camp. He is now cooperating with the government.

Mohammed Zazi, the father, is not accused of having foreknowledge of the plot.

Prosecutors in opening statements told a Brooklyn federal jury that the father made a "choice" to break the law when his son came under scrutiny.

"The FBI was frantically trying to stop a terrorist attack on New York City," prosecutor Andrew Goldsmith said. "They needed answers fast. Mohammed Wali Zazi decided to stand in the FBI's way. He lied, and he persuaded others to lie."

But defense lawyers said Zazi tried to do the right thing -- urging his son to cooperate with the FBI. They said his limited English skills led to "misunderstandings" that the FBI viewed as lies, and said the government's two star witnesses -- Amanullah Zazi and another relative -- were falsely accusing him to save their own skins.

"Mr. Zazi had no intention of obstructing justice," said defense lawyer Justine Harris. "This is a painful story of a family put under intense pressure."

Amanullah Zazi, 24, described himself as a reluctant witness against the uncle who raised him from the age of 13, when he came to the United States from Pakistan.

He said that, despite a cooperation agreement that he hopes will let him escape prison time for his role in the plot and later lies made to the FBI, he was jailed last week for drug use and for saying that he didn't want to testify.

He said his first contact with the plot came in 2008. He had returned to Pakistan after growing up in Queens. Najibullah Zazi and two friends who were visiting asked for an introduction to al-Qaida and Amanullah arranged through a cleric for them to go to training camps in Waziristan, a province on the Afghan border.

Amanullah Zazi returned to the United States in fall 2009 and joined his extended family in Denver when Najibullah came under scrutiny.