Queens NY Cabbie Indicted in Terror Support Case

(New York City) According to the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, a Queens cab driver originally from India, 45-year-old Patrick Nayyar (right), was indicted yesterday on charges of attempting to provide material support to Hezbollah, the Shi'ite Iranian-backed U.S.-designated terrorist group based in Lebanon.

Another man whose whereabouts are unknown, 43-year-old Conrad Mulholland, was indicted on the same charges. Mulholland is believed to be in England.

According to the indictment, the men agreed to sell weapons, ammunition, vehicles, bullet-resistant vests and night vision goggles to an FBI informant they believed was a member of Hezbollah.

Nayyar appeared in Manhattan federal court and pleaded not guilty to a five-count indictment that included conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization as well as illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.

He faces up to 80 years in prison on a combined total of the maximum of each of the five charges.

"The government is going to have real difficulty demonstrating any terrorist links," said Nayyar's lawyer, Martin Schmukler, who called the terrorism charges "overblown" and disputed a claim by authorities that his client was an illegal immigrant.

Nayyar was arrested on September 24 at his home in New York on separate firearms charges that were dropped. U.S. authorities said an alleged accomplice, British citizen Conrad Stanisclaus Mulholland remains at large in Britain, but Schmukler said he is being detained there.

Notably, Mr. Nayyar was trumpeted as a hero in a 2007 incident where he stopped another cab from putting a passenger's life in danger. Presumably, his good deed won't carry much weight if he goes to trial on charges he tried to provide material support to a terrorist organization.

Nayyar will be detained pending trial. A court appearance before a U.S. Magistrate is scheduled for November 3.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.