The last of the “Newburgh Four” co-defendants, convicted more than a decade ago of plotting to bomb Jewish sites in the Bronx and military aircraft upstate, is leaving prison early, a judge’s incendiary rebuke of federal law enforcement clearing the way.
U.S. District Court Judge Colleen McMahon granted “compassionate release” to James Cromitie, 58, the last of four Newburgh men convicted of terrorism charges in 2010, the culmination of a government sting long portrayed by civil liberties groups as an example of federal excess and FBI entrapment.
McMahon’s Jan. 19 release order heavily criticized prosecutors and law enforcement, arguing that Cromitie had been “a small time grifter and petty drug dealer with no history of violence,” and that “the government created a terrorist.”
Kerry Lawrence, Cromitie’s lawyer, said in an interview Thursday that his client would remain incarcerated at a federal correctional facility in Pennsylvania until April. He added that he had not yet been able to speak with Cromitie, but said the release order was significant.
“This was the most egregious case of government entrapment I’ve ever encountered,” said Lawrence, who previously served as a prosecutor for the Southern District of New York. “I’ve never seen anything like this and haven’t seen anything like this since.”
The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York declined to comment. Calls to the FBI’s New York office went unanswered.
A post-9/11 bomb plot
Cromitie and his co-defendants – David Williams, Onta Williams and Laguerre Payen – were convicted of plotting in 2008 plot to bomb a Jewish synagogue and community center in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, and to destroy military aircraft at the New York Air National Guard Base at Stewart Air Force Base – in upstate Newburgh, Orange County.
Each was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Cromitie’s release order follows “compassionate release” orders granted to the three…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply