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Whitestone man given 10 years in bomb plot

Whitestone man given 10 years in bomb plot
Louis Lanzano

MANHATTAN — An Algerian immigrant who formerly lived in Whitestone pleaded guilty to multiple synagogue bomb plots Tuesday in a Manhattan state court, the Manhattan DA said.

Ahmed Ferhani, who lived on 143rd Street, had sought to pose as an Hasidic Jew and plant bombs in multiple synagogues around the city, according to the NYPD.

State Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus agreed to sentence Ferhani to 10 years in prison and five years of post-release supervision pending a presentence report, though prosecutors had sought 14 years, according to a report in Bloomberg.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly had encouraging words for Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance.

“He rose to the occasion in making sure Ahmed Ferhani received significant jail time,” Kelly said in a statement. “In his allocution, Ferhani made clear – as our intelligence division detectives documented – that he intended to attack a Manhattan synagogue with a hand grenade and gunfire for the purpose of intimidating and coercing the Jewish population of New York City.”