A Flushing father of two sits in a federal lockup – held without bail as an alleged terrorist gunrunner – and faces up to 80 years in prison.
Patrick Nayyar, 45, was arrested on Tuesday, September 24 in the apartment he reportedly shares with his wife and two children. The Indian citizen, who is in the country illegally prosecutors say, worked as a superintendent in the building, where his mother also lives.
On Monday, October 25, Nayyar and another man, Conrad Stanisclaus Mulholland, were indicted in Manhattan for providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy and other felonies.
Mulholland, 43, a citizen of the United Kingdom also known as “Conrad Stan” or “Stan” according to authorities, reportedly may be in custody in London.
Nayyar, reportedly denied citizenship in 2006 “for undisclosed reasons,” had been charged with illegally possessing the Colt handgun and hollow-point ammunition. Those charges were dropped, and he was hit with more serious charges for committing those offenses as an illegal alien.
Nayyar’s attorney, Martin Schmukler, entered a not guilty plea and reportedly called the charges “overblown,” saying his client had been in the country for years and may only have overstayed his visa.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara alleged that between July and September, Nayyar and Mulholland agreed to sell guns, ammunition, vehicles, bulletproof vests, night vision goggles and a pickup truck to a confidential informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The informant was posing as an agent of Hezbollah, a Shi’ite military group in Lebanon, according to Bharara, who said they believed “That the confidential informant would deliver the items.”
On Monday, August 3, the informant allegedly met Nayyar at the apartment of Nayyar’s mother Sushila, 75, who was not charged in the case. “I know he dealt with suspicious people, but he’s not a terrorist,” she reportedly said.
Prosecutors allege that Nayyar directed her to get a handgun and ammunition from the bedroom, she complied and he gave the informant the gun and a box of bullets marked “For Law Enforcement Use Only, Not for Retail Sale.” The informant allegedly returned two days later and paid Nayyar $1,000.
Meanwhile, in another terror development, Najibullah Zazi, the former Flushing resident being held on bomb plot charges possibly related 9/11 anniversary, may have been in touch with a top Al Qaeda terror commander, according to published reports.
The contacts, possibly through a middleman, were with Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, also known as Sheikh Saeed, a 51-year-old Egyptian reputed to be second-in-line behind Osama Bin Laden and commander of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan.
It reportedly wasn’t clear if Al-Yazid contacted Zazi to offer encouragement or provide actual help with the alleged plot.
Prosecutors allege that after his arrest, Zazi admitted that he “received instructions from Al Qaeda operatives on subjects such as weapons and explosives” during a 2008 trip to Pakistan. His attorney insists that he was only visiting his wife.
