Jury convicts 2 in attempted Kennedy Airport terror plot

A Brooklyn federal court jury Monday convicted two would-be terrorists of conspiring to destroy jet-fuel tanks and pipelines at Kennedy Airport in 2006 and 2007 - a plot they named "Shining Light" for the massive explosion they hoped to trigger.

Russell DeFreitas, 67, a former cargo handler at the airport, and Abdul Kadir, 58, a Guyanese politician, were convicted of five counts of conspiracy on the fifth day of deliberations following a four-week trial. Both face up to life in prison.

Although the plot was penetrated by an FBI mole for more than a year and the plotters floundered in trying to develop an operational plan - even discussing fantastical schemes involving rats and ninjas - prosecutors contended efforts to get support from Caribbean terror groups, al-Qaida, Hezbollah and Iran made it a serious threat.

"The defendants intended to send a message by killing Americans and destroying the New York City economy," said U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch. "Today the only message is that those who engage in potentially deadly plots against the United States will be stopped and punished."

DeFreitas and Kadir betrayed no emotion when the verdict was read. Jurors heard dozens of secretly recorded tapes of them discussing the plot and of DeFreitas surveilling the airport; nonetheless defense lawyers said their clients were surprised at the verdict.

Lawyers for both men pledged appeals, and questioned prosecutors' decision to read 25-year-old sermons from Ayatollah Khomeini found in a file cabinet at the home of Kadir, a Shia Muslim, and to suggest that he might have been an Iranian spy without any direct evidence of it.

"There was more than just the evidence Mr. Kadir was up against," said his lawyer, Kafahni Nkrumah. "There was the atmosphere, the undercurrent of fear in the country of Muslims and Islam, and fear of terrorists, especially in New York City."

Mildred Whalen, DeFreitas' lawyer, said FBI mole Steven Francis was the linchpin of the plot, and without him the defendants were just hapless talkers. "Without the government, I think it's clear they couldn't act on their own," she said.

DeFreitas, a Guyanese-American living in Brooklyn, said on tapes recorded by Francis that he devised the plot as revenge for being forced to load military equipment for Israel during his stint as a cargo loader at Kennedy, and for his own perceived mistreatment as a black man in America.

Kadir, a former member of Parliament and mayor of Guyana's second-largest city, testified he never actually joined the plot, but strung DeFreitas along because he hoped he would help him with U.S. fundraising for a mosque.

Prosecutors countered with the evidence of Kadir's Iranian contacts. At the time of his arrest, Kadir was on his way to Iran - to attempt to sell the Kennedy plot to the Iranian mullahs, the government argued.

In addition to the five conspiracy counts, DeFreitas was also convicted of surveillance of a mass-transit facility. Kadir was acquitted on that count.

Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 15.