Alleged al-Qaeda sympathizer arrested for plot to bomb police, post offices
11/20/2011NEW YORK — Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Sunday an al-Qaeda sympathizer who plotted to bomb police and post offices in New York City has been arrested on numerous charges.
Bloomberg announced the Saturday arrest of 27-year-old Jose Pimentel of Manhattan, a U.S. citizen originally from the Dominican Republic.
“He appears to be a total lone wolf. There is no evidence that he worked with anyone else,” the mayor said at a news conference.
Pimentel is accused of having an explosive substance that he planned to use against others and property to terrorize the public.
The charges include conspiracy, first-degree criminal possession of a weapon as a crime of terrorism, and soliciting support for a terrorist act.
“This is just another example of New York City because we are an iconic city ... this is a city that people would want to take away our freedoms gravitate to and focus on,” Bloomberg said.
The New York Police Department’s Intelligence Division was involved in the arrest. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said Pimentel spend most of his years in Manhattan and lived about five years in Schenectady.