In the criminal justice system
the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups,
the police who investigate crime
and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
Hey! How many times I got to tell you? Stay out of my garbage.
What do you care, man? Were you going to read it?
Just get out of here or I'll call the cops, all right?
Go ahead. Call them.
One, two, three, lift.
Come on, come on.
Is he going to make it?
No. Not if we stand here chatting.
He's got a bullet in his chest, could be bleeding out. Let's go.
The victim's ID says James Caruso, 23-years-old.
Uh, did anybody see anything?
I mean, it's the middle of the day.
That guy. He called it in.
Sir? Hey, buddy!
You saw what happened?
The kid was in front of my store five minutes before.
He's a curb shopper. He goes through garbage looking for treasures.
He was poking through this one when the guy came up.
The guy?
Tall, gray hair, suit pants, uh, white shirt.
The kid was reaching for something in the can,
and the guy ran up to him and pulled a gun.
This can here? Mmm-hmm.
The guy started yelling. The kid freaked and pushed him,
and the guy just shot him.
Then he just stood there, like he was surprised the gun even went off.
Then he saw me looking and he just took off.
All right, did you hear what he was yelling about?
No, I was too far away.
Maybe this.
$100 bills. Nice and crisp.
A credit card receipt, today's date.
Three cheeseburgers.
And extra lettuce.
Your name's on the receipt, Randy. It's Randall.
Randy is an adjective, which only sometimes describes me.
Do you own a gun, Randall?
No, I don't own a gun. And I didn't go across town
to throw my cheeseburger bag into a garbage can with...
How much did you say? 10,000.
New bills.
We're thinking drug deal, or a gambling debt.
Who'd I owe, the Sanitation Department? I walked away from my car for 10 minutes.
I left here, I walked to the burger place, there, I came back
to pick up my CEO and drive him to his tennis club.
What did you do with the bag?
I ate the burgers on the way back and I tossed it.
Tossed it where? In the park.
So I littered. Anybody could've picked it up.
Yeah.
Maybe somebody coming out of there.
Fresh $100 bills.
Let's see who made a withdrawal.
Just tell them what happened. They said not to.
No, we don't have a choice. Darlene.
My husband shot somebody.
Okay, sir. Turn around.
Turn around. Where's the gun? Hmm?
Top drawer.
Please! My husband's not a criminal! He didn't mean to do it.
Ma'am, please, stand over there.
Turn around and tell me what you did mean to do.
Well, our daughter was kidnapped. I just wanted him to tell me where she is.
Okay. I think you need to start at the beginning.
We got a call from her cell phone.
I could hear her crying in the background.
A man said to put $10,000 in a fast food bag
and put it in a garbage can or he'd kill her.
We called her school,
and they said that she'd gone off-campus for lunch
and didn't come back. They...
They can't find her.
So you went to the bank, you got the money, and you found a fast-food bag.
And I put it in the garbage can,
but I waited to see who picked it up.
Waited with a gun.
I wanted to make him tell me where my daughter is.
Is, is he still alive? Did he say anything?
Mr. Sorenson, that might have been just some kid
scavenging through the garbage.
No.
Please, you've got to help us.
Actually you've got to come with us. Excuse me.
No! What if they call back?
We've been trying to call them, to explain.
Dad? What's going on?
Oh my God! Jill!
Jill! Are you all right?
Did they hurt you?
Who? I was with Amanda.
Amanda?
We cut class.
Where's your cell phone?
I don't know. I lost it.
So my dad shot someone because he thought I'd been kidnapped?
Uh, yeah. Which, for the record, you hadn't been. Correct?
No. I was in Times Square with a friend.
We just went to see a movie.
This is my fault.
No, it's not.
They hang out at the theaters,
spot a well-dressed kid, steal her cell phone,
and then call her parents and tell them she's been kidnapped
with an accomplice screaming for daddy in the background.
Virtual kidnapping.
Simple, low-risk, and there's no actual hostage to lock up and feed.
Very simple, except for James Caruso, the kid who got shot.
Yeah, he's the neighborhood dumpster diver.
Wrong can, wrong time.
The guy who was supposed to pick up the money was probably a few feet away,
and he took off when the shooting started.
So, what are you going to do about the shooter, Mr. Sorenson?
Well, Caruso's going to live, and Sorenson's paying the hospital bill, so
if his story checks out, probably assault one.
Yeah.
Thanks. See ya.
Okay.
Yeah?
Oh, thank you.
It's the girl's cell phone records.
Uh, she texted her boyfriend at 11:14, then the phone was stolen.
Here's the call to her parents at 11:58. Hmm.
Then one call, international, 35 minutes.
Country code 967.
Yeah, that's Yemen.
That's interesting.
Um, I'm going to be out for a while.
Uh, if this breaks, you let me know.
Yeah. Okay.
You didn't have to come. It's just an IV.
Chemotherapy.
Right.
I'm getting better already.
Mom, I wanted to be here.
So, what are you going to do, just sit there and stare at me for an hour?
Yes. Then take you home.
So where were you when I needed my kitchen painted?
I was scared my first time, too.
Well, then I... I hope I can be just as brave as you are.
Hey. You're off-duty.
I'm glad you're here, Son.
Yemen.
Yeah. Some of the Al-Qaeda guys tired of dodging Predator drones
in Pakistan have found a new home there.
I heard. So I was thinking, maybe...
The number the guys who stole the cell phone called
is a land line in Sa'dah.
That's not a number we're monitoring.
It's not?
You think virtual kidnappings could be fundraising for terrorists?
They smuggle drugs, counterfeit money, sell fake DVDs.
Can you find out if the number in Yemen made any calls to the US?
Uh, you want me to find out officially, or unofficially?
Officially.
The virtual kidnapper called a phone in Yemen.
That phone makes regular calls to one person in New York.
Sameer Ahmed, 23, born in Syria,
moved to Brooklyn with his parents when he was four,
became a US citizen six months ago.
And he celebrates by fake kidnapping teenage girls?
Land of opportunity.
He has a brother in Yemen, supposedly studying to be an engineer.
You know this isn't even enough to arrest the guy
in Brooklyn for the virtual kidnapping.
We can't prove he made the call.
What about a wiretap? Maybe we catch him doing it again.
Yeah, and if you happen to hear him talking some kind of terror plot...
That'd be okay, too.
All right, all right, don't worry about it.
I'm telling you, man, bigger ain't better.
This ain't 1995.
You want to go small, low-profile.
Okay, okay. I just want the best ones.
Dude, come on, I'll get you the best ones.
They're just not going to be big, okay?
I'll call you later.
Six hours on stereo equipment?
Don't we have interns?
Oh, what is that?
Lo mein? Hey, Lupo,
we have any more granola bars left?
Last one.
- Hello? - Sameer.
I got tired of waiting on you, so I found one on my own.
She just went into the theater. I already called her parents.
Green garbage can, northwest corner 26th and Second.
2:00. Don't screw it up this time.
Okay.
2:00. That's less than an hour.
Let's go screw it up.
Sameer! What's in the bag?
Police! Freeze!
Hey, what's going on? What have you got here?
They're hamburgers. Oh, yeah, hamburgers?
What's this then, your Happy Meal prize?
That's mine. The bag's a disguise, you know? So I don't get mugged.
Turn around and put your hands on the car.
What do you got here? The whole cop army?
Possible terrorist connection, we don't take chances.
Terrorist? No, no, no, you got it wrong.
You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say...
I'm not a terrorist.
...can and will be used against you. I'm just trying
to raise some cash to open a store. You have the right
to an attorney. For stereo equipment.
Yeah? And what about your brother in Yemen?
I'm not a terrorist!
What kind of store is he running?
You can't arrest me.
We already did.
Look, hold up. My partner, he and his friends,
they want to do something to hurt America.
Hey. Do what?
Let me go. I can help you.
I love America. I'm a citizen.
Help us how, Sameer?
Hey, call me Sam, all right? I can find out what they're doing.
They're waiting for me.
If I don't get back in half an hour, they'll know something's wrong.
I can help you.
Everything went smooth this time.
You took your cut?
I did.
Good. Enjoy it.
Wait.
I want in.
In on what?
You, Ali, Joe, I've heard you talking.
We weren't talking to you, Stereo Man.
Hey, the stuff this country's been doing...
Somebody got to pay.
I know electronics. That could come in handy, all right?
You really want to do something?
Yeah. Don't you?
Come to my place tomorrow. We'll talk.
That's crappy sound. You hear that feedback?
I ought to sell you guys some decent equipment.
We'll try to do better next time. So what have these guys been talking about?
Justice, jihad, blowing things up.
Where?
Here in New York.
All right, who's who?
That's Charles Cole. He converted in prison.
Hardcore guy. He was up for armed robbery, I think, and rape.
These two?
Ali Hossam and Joe Darwish.
They're Egyptian, but Joe was born in Brooklyn.
They used to go to the same mosque as me.
And they were talking jihad, all the while you were
shaking rich girls' daddies down to open up a stereo store?
And never once did you mention this to the police before you got busted?
They're scary guys, man.
They say Cole killed somebody.
But I'm sorry, I should have told you.
I love this country.
What he loves is not going to jail.
Yeah, that, too.
Offer probation on extortion for the virtual kidnapping
in exchange for his cooperation, which you'll monitor.
I'll draft the agreement.
This is our area. FBI or at least a joint task force.
It's our case.
Do your people have any experience in this kind of thing?
Detective Lupo spent four years overseas with NYPD Intel.
Doing what?
You're not cleared.
We can detach Detectives Lupo and Bernard to JTTF.
That was easy.
There are guidelines.
We've developed rapport with Mr. Ahmed.
It stays with us. We'll keep you in the loop.
US Attorney may feel different.
He has my number.
Lieutenant?
Damn Feds.
They send their anti-terror dollars to Schenectady, then want to run cases in New York.
How are you doing?
Fine.
Are you currently involved in any criminal activity,
outside of the virtual kidnapping?
No.
Are you currently a defendant in an ongoing criminal trial?
No. Come on already, where do I sign?
This is not a get-out-of-jail free card.
You do not break the law unless you are instructed to do so by us.
Mmm-hmm. If you do get arrested, you call us.
If you can't reach us, you call Lieutenant Van Buren.
If my erection lasts more than four hours,
call my doctor.
You think this is funny, Sameer?
No. It's Sam.
I forget. You're Yankee Doodle Dandy, right?
You're born here, you don't appreciate this country.
My father, in Syria,
he was locked up and tortured for three years.
No explanation, no charges, no nice contract, nothing.
He got out and ran for his life. This country took him in.
And I'm pretty sure he'd be proud to know what you've been up to lately.
No, he wouldn't.
Starting now, he will.
He's combing his hair.
You're going to love it.
Collateral damage, my ass, man. It's genocide against Muslims.
That's Cole.
In Afghanistan, Pakistan, who those bombs been hitting?
It's a crusade. Bush said it.
He used the word.
One Jew gets killed in Palestine,
it's front page on The New York Times.
That's Hossam.
Meanwhile, Abu Ghraib,
we're just supposed to forget that.
That's me. Thank you.
You guys been talking about...
What about Darwish, the other guy, was he there?
Yeah, he's just kind of quiet. He doesn't talk much.
That's not what the imam on Atlantic Avenue says.
That guy? He's so busy going to interfaith breakfasts with rabbis.
They bought him off.
What do you want to do?
There's a synagogue in Washington Heights.
I know that place.
Boom.
Oh, that's Darwish.
Blow 'em to hell.
It'd just take a little C-4 or something like that.
I think I know someone who can get us some.
Who do you know?
You.
You're sure we can trust this guy?
Don't worry about it. You'll see.
How do I know this guy isn't a cop?
I told you, I know him from the mosque. Plus...
We've been running some stuff.
Hmm. Fake kidnappings.
So now he suddenly wants to do something righteous?
If Allah is willing.
I sympathize.
But I'm going to need 8,000.
What have you got?
Enough to bring down a building.
Where did you get this?
I'm in the National Guard.
Two deployments to Iraq.
So I've seen what my country is capable of.
So when I got home, I borrowed this.
Are we good?
How do I know this isn't just Silly Putty, man?
Because Silly Putty
doesn't do this.
It doesn't explode from a flame. It just burns.
We used to cook over this stuff in the field.
We're not going on no camping trip, my brother.
Well, then you're going to need these. Detonators.
Test one if you like.
Oh, we will.
Just don't hold it in your hand. That's if you want to keep your hand.
That's the storage locker they rented.
With our money.
You did get the $8,000 they paid me for the Silly Putty, right?
Here they come.
Are you sure this is safe?
Allah will protect us.
We gave you guys five detonators. I only see four.
Our guy and Cole, they went to the woods to test it.
You're missing a terrorist, too, aren't you?
No, that'd be Darwish. He tends to be a little late.
Not on top. Put them in the middle.
Like this?
Run the wires all together.
Did you get the power source?
Right here.
The remote control sets it off.
Did you get a car yet?
It'll be here by 9:00.
What's the plan after that?
They load the bomb in the trunk, drive to the synagogue.
Another car pulls up, they all get in, drive a block away,
push the remote control, blow up the building.
Or not.
Back up! Back up!
Go back! Go back!
Put your hands on your heads! Now!
Put your hands on your heads where I can see them!
Let me see those hands!
Blow it.
We're too close.
We'll be martyrs.
I... I don't want to be a martyr.
Open the door! With your left hand, slowly open the door.
Hands on your head!
Open the car door slowly!
Get out! Get it.
Kneel! On your knees, now!
Lie down, face first.
You! Yeah.
I sold you a dud, bro.
What the hell was that?
Four blocks away from the gang we rounded up.
Did we maybe miss a connection there?
The cops were all over the people we were watching. There was never a hint.
Either they fooled us,
or we were wasting our time on a nonexistent bomb plot
while actual bombers were blowing up an actual building.
It's our dumb luck nobody was injured.
The plot we stopped wasn't nonexistent.
These people fully intended to blow up a synagogue.
And I intend to walk on the moon.
All I need is a nice policeman to give me a rocket ship.
Do we know anything about the bomb that did blow up?
We didn't have an informant in that group.
Maybe they had an informant in our group.
This man, Ahmed, are we sure he didn't play us all for fools?
I didn't know. I swear.
Same night, same neighborhood, same kind of target.
There's more than three angry Muslims around.
You never mentioned anyone else.
I'm not the king of jihad. I'm a stereo salesman
who brought you the guys I knew.
Maybe they spoke to someone else?
Maybe planned a little sideshow to go with the main event.
Hossam? Darwish?
I don't know. What about Cole?
He seemed pretty damned enthusiastic.
He converted in prison.
Some of those guys are the worst.
This is how it works. We track down your friends from prison.
If any of them were involved, then so are you.
Unless you want to save us the trouble.
Oh, that's what I want to do. Save you trouble.
We have you on video assembling a terrorist bomb.
That's life without parole.
Except it wasn't actually a bomb.
He thought it was.
What if Mr. Cole
could give you the name of the ringleader of the other bombing?
If it pans out, attempted arson.
Jail time?
Twelve years.
Twelve years?
But nothing happened.
I know a man from Attica.
He told me he was planning something big to wake this country up.
He told me I could help, do some odd jobs,
like I was his errand boy.
Did he tell you what he was planning?
A bomb.
I told him if he really wanted to hear some noise,
he'd listen in Washington Heights,
You told him where you were going to set off your bomb?
I told him where and when
so that when it happened, he'd know it came from me.
This person obviously wanted to go at the same time,
so his own explosion would have a bigger impact.
His name is Arthur Jackson. The police picked him up last night with two associates.
They found C-4 residue and maps marking the location of the synagogue they bombed.
Also, plans to shoot down military planes with Stinger missiles.
Where do things stand with your informant's bunch?
The only defendants left are a couple of followers,
Ali Hossam and Joe Darwish.
And they didn't do or say very much on the tapes.
Nail them down.
I want everybody to go away.
We thought that you should see Mr. Darwish's apartment for yourself.
God. Yeah.
Yeah. There's some expired anti-depressive medication in the bathroom
and a raw duck
on top of the refrigerator.
What's this?
Yeah, we thought maybe an explosive chemical, too.
It's urine.
The guy's a whack job.
There's something else.
We found some speed, methamphetamine, in the bedroom,
in this envelope
with a handwritten note.
"Hope this helps. Be strong. Sameer."
The guy was missing meetings, planning sessions.
He could barely drag himself out of his apartment.
So you gave him an illegal drug to keep his energy up?
He just needed a little help to get out of bed.
We said no illegal activity.
I didn't sell him the meth,
I just gave it to him.
Come on, I did what you wanted. What we wanted?
I said jihad and you started to drool.
You drugged someone into joining a conspiracy.
He had a headache, I gave him an aspirin.
You wanted him and people like him, and I delivered.
Mr. Darwish was diagnosed with unipolar depression last year.
He could go for a mental-incapacity defense.
Not to mention pointing out that he was drugged by our informant.
And Mr. Hossam is a dishwasher who was just along for the ride.
Defense may claim they were entrapped.
Just because we gave them the bomb, the detonators, the power supply,
the remote control, and motivational drugs?
We might want to drop the charges against Hossam
and Darwish.
No.
They went to that synagogue with what they thought was a bomb, correct?
Yes.
A synagogue that hosts a non-denominational shelter for abused women,
some of whom were sleeping there when the bomb car arrived.
Yes.
I think this city will be safer if those two are locked away.
It'll be a tough case to make, especially with the other bomb case on people's minds.
So combine them.
Charge a single conspiracy.
They're connected, aren't they?
Barely. All we know is that Charles Cole
from the first group had one conversation with the leader of the other group.
That's all you need.
This is an outrageous abuse of prosecutorial discretion.
The case against my clients is weak and embarrassing, so the District Attorney
is attempting to bolster it by combining it with a stronger case
with which it has no actual connection.
It's no coincidence that both bombs were set to explode on the same night.
But Mr. Hossam and Mr. Darwish
had no knowledge of the other bombing plot.
Even the District Attorney doesn't claim that they did.
They didn't need to. They were already conspiring with Mr. Cole.
And Mr. Cole in turn conspired with the other bombers?
Yes. We can bring him in to testify.
It's a daisy chain. We're going to end up connecting my clients to Kevin Bacon.
I'll hear the witness.
Notify the other defendants. They'll need to be present as well.
Mr. Cole, do you recognize the men at that table?
Yeah, I know Jackson. Arthur Jackson.
Did you and Mr. Jackson ever have a conversation about
setting off bombs in New York City?
Yes, we did.
I told him about my plans to blow up a Jewish temple,
with those two.
Let the record reflect that he is pointing to defendants Hossam and Darwish.
And did you tell Mr. Jackson when you and your associates
planned to set off your bomb?
I gave him the date, and the place,
in case he wanted to coordinate, which he did.
Mr. Cole, did you ever mention this alleged conversation
to Mr. Hossam or Mr. Darwish?
No.
So their only connection to Mr. Jackson
was through you,
and even you were barely connected to anything Mr. Jackson did.
Well, I told him everything that we were doing,
so that he could set his bomb off at the same time we were setting ours off.
But that had nothing to do with you, did it?
I wouldn't say that.
Why not? Mr. Jackson had a real bomb,
you had a fake one. He knew what he was doing,
you clearly had no idea.
He was operating independently,
you were operating under the control of a police informant.
He didn't even have everything.
He didn't need you.
He didn't even tell you what he was doing.
There was no connection between you or these defendants
and what his group accomplished.
I gave him a detonator.
The man forgot to get himself a detonator.
I mean, I was more prepared than he was.
And where did you get this detonator, Mr. Cole?
From the police, turns out.
I was supposed to test it. But I never got around to that.
The bomb that destroyed Congregation Beth Sinai
was triggered by a detonator
supplied not by any of these defendants,
but by the New York City Police?
I mean, yeah, I guess.
I'm telling you, Cole told me he tested that detonator in the Meadowlands.
Yes, and you told us you saw him do it.
I didn't think it matters. I believed him.
You were supposed to be on top of things.
I'm sorry.
I was embarrassed.
Embarrassed?
That I lost track of things.
I was trying to do a good job for you.
You were trying to save your own neck.
No.
I hate those people. I hate them.
How do we know you weren't in on the other plot?
Keeping us busy with three bozos while you were arranging the real thing?
Don't you know me?
You know me.
I don't know if we do, Sameer.
Sam.
He was embarrassed? How do you two feel?
Do you realize how this looks?
The NYPD, the District Attorney's office,
we supplied the detonator for the real bomb.
We didn't supply the explosives.
Those guys built the bomb themselves.
The defense is going to argue this entire plot was manufactured by the police.
Hey, you know what might save my case?
Indicting him and the two of you as co-conspirators.
You supplied more material support for the actual bombing
than the two losers I just did indict.
He's kidding, right?
Get ready to testify.
What do you want to do?
There's a synagogue in Washington Heights.
I know that place.
Boom.
Yeah, blow 'em to hell.
It'd just take a little C-4, or something like that.
Detective, was this the only occasion when you heard
Mr. Hossam and Mr. Darwish express
a desire to set off a bomb in Manhattan?
No. For them, it was a pretty regular topic of conversation.
Thank you.
Detective, in that recording it was Mr. Cole who pointed out
the existence of the synagogue and said, "Blow it to hell," wasn't it?
Yes, yes, and it was your client, Mr. Darwish, that said, "Boom."
Well, that was very colorful of him, wasn't it?
And Mr. Cole is a cooperating witness for the police, isn't he?
He wasn't at the time of the recording.
But Mr. Ahmed was?
Yes.
Well, let's listen to a little more.
You guys been talking about doing something, right?
It's a duty.
That's not what the imam on Atlantic Avenue says.
That guy? He's so busy going to interfaith breakfasts with rabbis.
They bought him off.
What do you want to do?
So, who said that his spiritual leader advised him that
blowing things up was not a religious duty?
Mr. Hossam.
And who told him that that spiritual leader had been bought off by Jews?
Mr. Ahmed.
Your informant? Yes.
Arguing Mr. Hossam into joining the plan.
He didn't put a gun to his head. Mr. Hossam was willing and ready.
He just needed a little encouragement, right?
I didn't have to talk anybody into anything.
They were always angry at America,
always talking about ways to hurt it.
And how did you feel about that? I didn't like it.
I'm an American citizen.
The day I pledged allegiance, it was the greatest day of my life.
This is the best country in the world.
But you didn't report them immediately.
No.
I was involved with one of them in a little scheme.
I needed money for a business I was starting.
An illegal scheme.
Yes. But it had nothing to do with terrorism,
nothing to do with bombs. That was all them.
I may have helped them get stuff they wanted,
but it was stuff they wanted.
Thank you.
Isn't there another reason you didn't report this so called conspiracy, Mr. Ahmed?
Yeah. I was afraid Cole would kill me.
Yeah, another reason?
Isn't it a fact that you didn't report them because, well,
there was nothing to report?
They weren't doing anything. They were just talking.
Talking like, "Let's blow up the Empire State Building."
And how would they ever have done that?
Wasn't it foolish talk, even evil talk, but, really,
just talk, until you got involved?
They could have met someone else who got them a real bomb.
It's lucky I was there first.
Lucky for you.
Tell me, what would have happened to you
if you hadn't discovered this so-called plot?
I would have gone to jail.
So you had strong motivation to discover a terrorist cell,
even one that didn't exist.
I didn't make anything up.
You pushed things along.
You gave Mr. Darwish drugs without which he would never have left his apartment.
Those drugs didn't make him hate America.
He's always been talking that way. I've known him a long time.
A long time?
Since 2007?
At least.
Did you see him around Christmas that year?
I don't know. Maybe.
You don't remember seeing him around Christmas 2007
and conducting some business with him?
I... I don't know.
Are you sure he was anti-American as long ago as that?
Maybe not.
Was he ever really anti-American at all?
I, um...
Maybe he wasn't.
Was he or wasn't he?
No, he wasn't.
So, a few minutes ago, you were exaggerating?
Yes, I was.
Speak up, Mr. Ahmed.
Yes, I was.
Maybe you were exaggerating about some other things as well.
What role did Mr. Darwish and Mr. Hossam play in this alleged conspiracy?
Not much. Anything at all?
Not really. I just kind of pulled them through it. I didn't want to go to jail,
so I made it happen.
I told the police what they wanted to hear.
What the hell just happened?
Christmas Day, 2007. She mentioned that, and he flipped.
She blackmailed him.
In open court.
Blackmailed him with what?
My mother used to bring me here when I was little.
She would buy me an orange soda and we would sit
and look at the tall buildings.
Yeah.
The guys watching you, they tell me you like to come here.
Are you here to arrest me? Not yet.
Cutter, he wants to call you for redirect tomorrow.
Tell him not to bother.
How long will I go to jail for the fake kidnappings?
On December 21, 2007,
someone burglarized an electronics warehouse in Flatbush.
They drove off with a vanload of stereo equipment.
The thief was never identified or caught.
Now, there's a question on Form N-400,
the application for citizenship,
that asks, "Have you ever committed a crime or offense
"for which you were not arrested?"
Do you know what happens if Immigration Service finds out you lied?
They take away your citizenship.
You get arrested, then jailed, then deported.
Any crime committed after you're a citizen,
you just go to jail.
But if you committed one in 2007...
Darwish, he knows about this, and he somehow managed to remember,
and he told his lawyer.
Do you know what happens to me if I get deported to Syria?
Arrested, prison,
tortured, no future, no life.
I can't tell you what to do, Sam,
but I do know a tight spot when I see one.
Do you know what paradise is?
This is paradise.
When your mother brought you here, when you were a kid,
the World Trade Center,
it was right over there.
I have redirect for Mr. Ahmed.
You're still under oath, sir. Do you understand?
I do.
Yesterday, you told us two different stories.
First, that defendants Darwish and Hossam
were eager participants in a bombing conspiracy,
and then, that they weren't.
Can you explain to us why you changed your mind?
It's complicated.
Try.
I, uh...
I encouraged them to take action.
I gave them the bomb,
and I bought other supplies.
And I gave drugs to Darwish.
And I did all of that
because they wanted me to.
They wanted to kill Americans,
blow up buildings,
hurt America.
If I hadn't helped them,
they would have found somebody else, some other way.
But because they found me first, they were stopped.
If they had found somebody else,
you would be picking body parts out of a gutter,
and they would be celebrating.
Then why did you say otherwise?
Because they know about a crime I committed,
a burglary.
That will mean I lose my American citizenship
and I'll get deported to a terrible place.
I lied because I want to stay here,
because this is the place I love.
But when I became a citizen, I took an oath.
I will support and defend the United States of America
against all enemies,
foreign and domestic.
And that's what I'm doing now,
even if it means I will stop being a citizen,
and be sent away,
and America will go on
without me.
Guilty, all of them.
Where's your informant?
Locked up, waiting to be deported.
Do you want to help him?
I'd like to kick his ass back to Syria myself.
I may have to go with him. Have you seen the editorials?
"Synagogue snafu. Who's to blame?"
Hey, about, uh, Mr. Ahmed,
there's a case, Gorbach v. Reno.
It, uh, limits the authority of the INS
to revoke citizenship based on certain technicalities.
It's not exactly current.
Ripped & Corrected By mstoll