By Gina Martinez
A Rego Park man with a history of violence against Muslims is headed to prison for his 2012 vicious attack on a man entering a mosque in Kew Gardens Hills.
Bernhard Laufer, 59, was convicted of attempted murder as a hate crime, attempted assault as a hate crime, and weapon possession Monday after a 2-1/2-week trial, the Queens district attorney said.
Queens Supreme Court Justice Barry Schwartz was scheduled to sentence Laufer Dec. 14, when he will face up to 25 years in prison.
According to trial testimony, on Nov. 16, 2012 Laufer vandalized the Masjid- Al Saaliheen Mosque on 72-55 Kissena Blvd. by smashing the door and breaking the door handle with a stone, Brown said. Later that day, and the following day, Laufer called the mosque multiple times, leaving threatening voice mails. On Nov. 18, 2012, at 4:50 a.m., Laufer followed Bashir Ahmad, 57, up the stairs that led into the mosque and as Ahmad was unlocking the door, Laufer stabbed him in the head, Brown said.
When Ahmad turned, Laufer continued to attack Ahmad, biting his nose and stabbing him in the back, leg and thumb, the DA said. Ahmad was later taken to the hospital to treat his injuries.
According to trial records, Laufer left his glasses at the scene. DNA evidence was found on the glasses that matched Laufer, according to the DA. Investigators were also able to trace the threatening phone calls made days before the attack to Laufer’s home phone, Brown said.
“Crimes fueled by hate will never be tolerated here in Queens County – the most diverse urban area in the entire nation,” Brown said. “A jury weighed all the evidence in this case and within hours convicted the defendant of a hate crime for the vicious attempted murder of a Muslim man. The defendant has proven himself a danger to society and warrants a lengthy incarceration.”
This was not Laufer’s first brush with the law. In 2015 Laufer was sentenced to three years of supervised release and six months of home confinement after pleading guilty to sending death threats to employees of the Washington advocacy group, Council on American Islamic Relations. He threatened Executive Director Nihad Awad and other CAIR staff with significant bodily harm and death, according to the criminal complaint filed by the Justice Department.
Laufer faced a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for the email threats. At the time Laufer had already spent 13 months in federal custody for his arrest in the Kew Gardens mosque attack and was sentenced based on time served.
Reach Gina Martinez by e-mail at gmart
