The terrorist next door
New York State Senator Tom Croci, seen in a July 15, 2014 photo, wants to mandate monthly reports from state offices to help speed up superstorm Sandy claims to New York Rising. Credit: Ed Betz
Would you like to know whether there is a terrorist living on your street? State Sen. Tom Croci (R-Sayville) is leading the charge to create a New York State Terrorist Registry. His legislation, which has passed the Senate and awaits action in the Assembly, mimics the state's ineffective sex-offender registry.
Croci said his bill would apply to those convicted under state or federal terrorism laws. There are 54 people in New York, most in state prison, who fall into this category. They include six Yemeni-Americans convicted of attending an al-Qaida training camp who were released from prison in 2012. The 899 terrorists elsewhere in the nation convicted under federal law would have to register if they move to the Empire State when freed.
This bill seems more like a premature anti-terrorist campaign slogan than a timely piece of legislation.
