Terrorist Suspect To Be Sentenced
Today, [Shahawar Matin Siraj], the man convicted on conspiracy charges in a scheme to blow up the Herald Square subway stationone of the city's busiestcould get more than 30 years in prison during sentencing in federal court. His defense attorneys have tried to convince a judge that his sentence should be no more than 10 years, since the attack was never actually carried out--but as they say, its the thought that counts. Siraj was arrested back in 2004, the night before the Republic Convention, carrying diagrams of the subway station. Authorities said he had no affiliation with known terrorist organizations. An undercover cop played the role of an accomplice and assured Siraj that any plan he concocted would have the backing of a made-up group called The Brotherhood. The other suspect involved, James Elshafay, immediately agreed to cooperate with the government.