Two Convicted in JFK Bomb Plot

Score another win for U.S. anti-terrorism efforts: Two men were convicted on Monday for plotting to use explosives to bomb New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. Russell Defreitas, 66, a former JFK cargo handler, and Abdul Kadir, 58, once a member of Guyana's parliament, were convicted of multiple conspiracy charges by a Brooklyn federal court jury that deliberated for five days. The pair was arrested in 2007 after an informant infiltrated the plot, making several incriminating tape recordings, including one where Defreitas ranted about punishing the United States with an attack that would “dwarf 9/11.” Their alleged aim was to set off an explosion “so massive ... that it could be seen from far, far away,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Zainab Ahmad said in closing arguments. The duo’s code name for the plot was “The Shining Light,” said the prosecutor. Defense lawyers pegged their clients as mere trash-talkers, and questioned the validity of the informant, a convicted drug dealer. “It's pretty clear that these guys have seen too many Bruce Willis movies and don't have enough to fill up their time," Mildred Whalen, the attorney for Defreitas, told jurors.