Two Men Convicted in JFK Fuel Tank Plot

two men who attempted to blow up fuel tanks in 2007 at John F. Kennedy Airport were found guilty.
Two Men Convicted in JFK Fuel Tank Plot
8/3/2010
Updated:
8/3/2010

A jury in Brooklyn on Monday found two men who attempted to blow up fuel tanks in 2007 at John F. Kennedy International Airport guilty.

Abdul Kadir, 58, and Russell Defreitas, 66, were both convicted on conspiracy charges, reported the Associated Press. Prosecutors claimed that the two men were attempting to kill thousands of people by blowing up fuel tanks in an attempt to rival or even outdo the 9/11 attacks.

Their defense attorneys said that the two men were just talking nonsense and had no capacity to carry out an attack of that magnitude.

Prosecutors used secret recordings of the two men talking about blowing up the fuel tanks, and said Dereitas traveled to Guyana with a secret informant to look at videotapes of the fuel tanks.

The two men plan to appeal the decision and face life in prison. They are to be sentenced on Dec. 15.