Mar 18, 2008 1:35 pm US/Eastern
"Liberty City 7" Leader Stands By His Story
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
The alleged ringleader of the so called "Liberty City 7" is sticking by his story in a Miami federal courtroom.
Tuesday on the stand, 34-year old Narseal Batiste testified that he only went along with talk of terrorist plots in hopes of receiving $50-thousand from a man he thought was a part of al Qaeda. The man was, in reality, a paid informant working with the FBI.
Batiste and six other men are accused of plotting to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago and bomb several FBI offices across the country, including the one in Miami.
Last December, the men's first trial ended in a mistrial for six of the men; the jury acquitted the seventh man of any wrongdoing.
During the re-trial the prosecution's star witness, the paid informant, testified that the group was committed to carrying out the attacks and the FBI did not entrap them. Elie Assad said after a series of meetings with alleged ringleader Batiste, he had no doubt the group planned to move forward with their plans.
Defense attorneys for the six men say all of the meetings their clients had with Assad were were orchestrated by the FBI and the men were merely trying con Assad out of $50-thousand that he said would be coming from Osama Bin Laden.
If convicted on the four terrorism related charges, the six men face up to 70 years in prison.
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