Orange County DA should take note: parentage is not an excuse for lying to officials, committing perjury, or obstructing justice. Though the cases are different, the principle is the same.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/father_guilty_in_terror_plot_AMkEkilXSykIvv8FS8CKEP
Father guilty in terror plot
Covered up for bomber son
Last Updated: 8:14 AM, July 23, 2011
Posted: 1:09 AM, July 23, 2011
The father of an admitted terrorist who hoped to launch suicide bomb attacks in New York City's subways was found guilty yesterday on charges he lied to FBI agents investigating his son's plot.
Mohammed Zazi, 55, was also convicted of obstructing justice by destroying chemicals in September 2009 that his son, Najibullah Zazi, planned to use in the construction of explosive devices.
Federal prosecutors had argued the father's lies delayed the progress of a frantic probe -- as FBI agents across the country scrambled to thwart what was then believed to be an impending terrorist attack aimed at New York.
Targeted subways.
After hearing the verdict, Mohammed nodded his head in apparent resignation and sat with his hands in his pocket.
One of his attorneys, Deborah Colson, said the defense team was "very disappointed."
"We plan to appeal. We will keep fighting for Mr. Zazi," Colson said.
Brooklyn US Attorney Loretta Lynch said Mohammed "sought to conceal one of the most violent terror plots in recent times.
"His actions, had they not been thwarted, would have left Americans at grave risk."
Mohammed, a US citizen who moved from New York to suburban Denver several years ago, faces up to a maximum of 40 years in prison.
His 26-year-old son has already pleaded guilty to terror-related charges, and admitted to traveling to Wazirstan on Pakistan's northwest frontier with Afghanistan.
While there, he received instruction at an al Qaeda training camp on using common household chemicals to build bombs -- part of an effort to launch suicide-bomb attacks in New York's subways.
His defense attorneys insisted he never destroyed evidence, nor did he lie to the FBI, but said his limited grasp of English led to miscommunications and misunderstandings.
As he emerged from the Brooklyn federal courthouse, Mohammed proclaimed to reporters that "I am innocent."
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/father_guilty_in_terror_plot_AMkEkilXSykIvv8FS8CKEP#ixzz1SwI167Xz
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