Yesterday, the FBI raided homes in Long Island, Massachusetts, Maine and NJ as part of its investigation into the activities of Times Square car bomb suspect Faisal Shahzad. Two men in Massachusetts were taken in custody, as was one man in Maine, and it appears that Shahzad may have received money for his plot from a cash courier in Long Island.
According to Newsday, "Shortly before the attempted car bombing in Times Square, Shahzad traveled to Ronkonkoma, where he received cash that he used to help carry out his plot, according to sources familiar with the investigation." Two Long Island men were interviewed, however, it's unclear whether the men knew what the money would be used for. Attorney General Eric Holder said, "There’s at least a basis to believe that one of the things that they did was to provide him with funds. And so we are trying to trace back to see what exactly was the nature of those transactions, what was the purpose of the sharing of that — of those moneys."
The owner of a Ronkonkoma Dunkin' Donuts said the feds asked to see his surveillance tapes; Uri Back told Newsday that the tapes were being copied to DVD and that he didn't think the government would suspect him of being in the plot, "Me? As an Israeli? Are you kidding me? No way!"
In the meantime, the Pakistani government says it arrested a co-conspirator of Shahzad's: The Washington Post reports, "The suspect, whose arrest has not been previously disclosed, provided an 'independent stream' of evidence that the Pakistani Taliban were behind the attempt and has admitted helping Faisal Shahzad, the main suspect, travel into Pakistan's tribal belt for bomb training." But there are apparently inconsistencies with the suspect's story and with Shahzad's.
