Paid FBI informant who claimed Pakistan terror link is grilled at NY synagogue bomb plot trial

FBI informant grilled at NY temple bomb plot trial

NEW YORK — A paid FBI informant has testified about coaxing a bomb plot suspect into trying to attack New York synagogues.

Shahad Hussain told a Manhattan jury during cross-examination Tuesday he bought meals and paid rent for James Cromitie.

Hussain also testified he falsely promised to make Cromitie “the happiest man on planet Earth” if he completed his mission. The informant was posing as a representative of a Pakistani terrorist organization.

Cromitie and three other men are accused of plotting to blow up synagogues in the Bronx and shoot down military planes in Newburgh, a 90-minute drive north. They were arrested last year.

They’ve pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction and conspiracy to acquire and use anti-aircraft missiles to kill U.S. officers and employees.