Kosciuszko Bridge is not prepared for a terror attack and it's design was stolen according to lawsuit.

NY Post

A botched job of terror-proofing the new Kosciuszko Bridge has left its cables vulnerable to attack — and bumbling contractors even posted information online that all but provides a blueprint for would-be bombers, a blockbuster suit alleges.

Meanwhile, preventable “aggressive corrosion” of the shielding that’s supposed to protect the span’s 112 cables could cause them to break on their own — or send the metal-and-concrete armor tumbling onto the heavily trafficked overpass connecting Brooklyn and Queens, the court papers claim.
“These failings create a severe and imminent threat to public safety, the implications of which cannot be overstated,” according to the suit.

The alarming claims are part of a suit brought by Maryland-based armor manufacturing company Hardwire LLC alleging theft of trade secrets by its former vice president and program manager of bridge security, Irvin “Skip” Ebaugh IV.

The FBI has an active and ongoing criminal investigation into the alleged rip-off and Ebaugh’s work on the Kosciuszko or “K Bridge,” according to the suit Hardwire filed last month in Baltimore federal court.
 
The suit seeks more than $39.6 million in damages from Ebaugh and his company, Infrastructure Armor LLC, for allegedly using Hardwire’s technology to underbid the firm and win a contract for the Kosciuszko job — without having the expertise to properly manufacture and install the cable shields.
 
“As a result, Ebaugh and IA’s armor work at the K Bridge is critically flawed and creates a severe and imminent danger to the public and those that use and work on the bridge spans,” the suit charges.

Update: Skippy returned to do a little "upgrading".

NY Post

The contractor accused of botching the installation of protective shields around the new Kosciuszko Bridge’s cables was spotted installing a metal strap around one of the anti-terror devices on Monday.
 
Photos shot by The Post show Irvin “Skip” Ebaugh IV and another worker standing on an elevating work platform as they cinch down one of three straps on a shield whose sections don’t appear flush along their length.
 
The apparent repair effort came hours after The Post exclusively revealed Ebaugh faces a $39.6 million suit for allegedly stealing trade secrets from a former employer that he underbid to get the cable-armor job.

Subway bomber waged a personal war on Christmas

From CBS 2:

The subway was attacked during rush hour by an apparent suicide bomber.

The alleged attacker has been identified as 27-year-old Akayed Ullah.

Six people, including Ullah, were injured in the blast.

Investigators said the bomb was poorly constructed, and failed to properly detonate.

They have the remnants of the device, which includes some type of Christmas light that may have been used as an electrical component.

Governor Cuomo said security has been boosted at high profile locations statewide, and investigators have been sent to Ullah’s Brooklyn home.

The FBI and NYPD bomb squad were on the scene as early as 8:30 a.m. looking for any information as to what may have motivated him.

The home is on East 48th Street in the Flatlands section of Brooklyn. A quiet, tight-knit community where neighbors said the only problem they ever had with the suspect’s family was over a parking spot.

Neighbors said Ullah lived in the basement of the brick multi-family home near Avenue N for at least the last 5 years. They said his mother, father, and brother — who has his own wife and child – lived in the unit upstairs.

Another basement dweller, eh?

From the NY Times:

Law enforcement officials said the attacker, identified by the police as Akayed Ullah, 27, chose the location because of its Christmas-themed posters, a motive that recalled strikes in Europe, and he told investigators that he set off his bomb in retaliation for United States airstrikes on ISIS targets in Syria and elsewhere.

Strange terrorist incident kills 8, injures 11

From PIX11:

A man described as a "lone wolf" deliberately drove a rented truck into a West Side bike path in lower Manhattan, killing at least eight people and injuring 11 others in the first terror attack in New York City since 9/11, and just blocks from the World Trade Center.

A high-ranking police source tells PIX11 News the suspect has been identified as 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov, a Tampa, Florida resident who arrived in the United States in 2010 from Uzbekistan, sources tell PIX11 News.

Saipov was brandishing two fake guns when he exited the truck after the multi-block rampage which left a trail of mangled bodies and twisted bikes. He yelled "Allah Akbar," which is Arabic for God is great.

"This was an act of terror — a cowardly act of terror aimed at innocent civilians going about their lives," Mayor Bill de Blasio said. "This action was intended to break our spirit. But New Yorkers are strong. New Yorkers are resilient and our spirit will never be moved by an act of violence.

No other suspects are being sought in the investigation.

Ozone Park dude tries to join ISIS

From the NY Post:

A 22-year-old Queens man has been busted trying to join ISIS, authorities said Tuesday.

Parveg Ahmed was deported back to the US from Saudia Arabia on Monday as he attempted to cross into Syria to joint the militant group, according to a newly unsealed indictment.

The Ozone Park man left a message for his family before traveling overseas, according to court papers, writing: “Forgive me if I was harsh/overbearing. Please remember all that I tried to teach you.”

He faces charges of attempting to provide material support to ISIS and is expected to face arraignment in Brooklyn federal court. If convicted, he faces life behind bars.

After Ahmed was taken into custody, authorities discovered disturbing images “associated with violent” groups on Ahmed’s phone, including “a picture of five men hanging by their necks with the caption ‘Gay men to be hanged,’ texts justifying attacks on the World Trade Center and a picture of the leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Council speaker rides float with terrorist

From the NY Post:

Controversial onetime convicted terror leader Oscar Lopez Rivera may have declined the Puerto Rican Day Parade’s “National Freedom Award,” but he was still at the head of the event Sunday — with the City Council speaker right by his side.

Lopez Rivera — who did 35 years behind bars for his ties to the Puerto Rican terror group FALN — was on the first float out of the gate at the Manhattan parade, and speaker pal Melissa Mark-Viverito hopped on to join him at 62nd Street.

BDB now claims he really didn't want OLR honored at parade

From CBS 2:

The mayor, who is running for reelection, was asked repeatedly if he would join Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, Goya Foods, the New York Yankees, AT&T, Coca-Cola, and many others in refusing to participate. Each time, he said he would march.

“I’m going to do everything I would normally do with the parade,” de Blasio said on May 19.

But on Monday, de Blasio said he was just being “diplomatic.”

The mayor claimed he had privately voiced concerns to parade organizers about López Rivera – whose sentence for sedition, armed robbery, and conspiracy to transport explosives was commuted after 36 years by President Barack Obama.

The mayor said to get the parade committee to sever ties with López Rivera, he privately threatened not to march.

“I made it clear to them that I was uncomfortable with the situation and I wanted them to resolve it,” de Blasio said, “but if it wasn’t resolved, I wasn’t going to be comfortable being a part of it.”

The mayor said he didn’t make his efforts public because “sometimes to get something done, you hold your tongue in public.”

Lopez-Rivera no longer the honoree at PRD parade

From NY1:

Trying to put an end to a controversy, Mayor Bill de Blasio says Puerto Rican nationalist Oscar Lopez Rivera will no longer be officially honored at the Puerto Rican Day parade.

The Thursday night announcement comes after Rivera wrote a column published in the Daily News, saying, "I will be on Fifth Avenue not as your honoree but as a humble Puerto Rican."

City Hall on Thursday night said Rivera won’t be honored. They released a statement that reads, in part, "Oscar Lopez Rivera agreeing to step aside from any formal role in the parade is a critical step forward in refocusing our city's attention on the more important issues facing Puerto Rico."

Too late.

BDB, MMV trying to duck OLR controversy

From CBS:

On Wednesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio revealed that he will still march in the parade, but will not march alongside Lopez Rivera – whom some call a political prisoner, others a practitioner of terrorism.

De Blasio has joyously marched in the parade in past years. But after weeks of controversy over his own decision to participate in parade honoring Lopez Rivera, he spoke about the issue.

“I’m not marching with this individual,” de Blasio said. “I was never going to march with him.”

The mayor said in years past, he walked down Fifth Avenue with other elected officials. When Kramer asked whom de Blasio would be marching with this year, de Blasio said he didn’t know.

Meanwhile, Lopez Rivera’s top champion in New York, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, is now refusing to say if she will march with him. Mark-Viverito is “still finalizing logistics,” according to her spokeswoman.

Council members think terrorists are heroes

From the Queens Chronicle:

On Monday, Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito (D-Manhattan, Bronx), a native of Puerto Rico, released a letter to the parade’s board commending the organization “for recognizing that Oscar Lopez Rivera represents the voice, tenacity and resolve of Puerto Rico and its people.”

The letter, signed by 30 members of the City Council including seven who represent Queens, concludes by saying, “We stand in solidarity with Oscar and express our full support for the board’s decision to recognize and uplift the legacy of Oscar Lopez Rivera.”

The Queens Council members who signed on include Costa Constantinides (D-Astoria); Danny Dromm (D-Jackson Heights); Julissa Ferreras Copeland (D-East Elmhurst); Peter Koo (D-Flushing); Daneek Miller (D-St. Albans); Antonio Reynoso (D-Brooklyn, Queens) and Donovan Richards (D-Laurelton).

The Chronicle contacted the offices of all Queens Council members to ask about either their reasons for signing the letter or whether they intend to march. A handful responded via email.

“Oscar Lopez Rivera was pardoned by President Obama because he was never convicted of a violent crime,” Councilman Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) wrote. “He is one of a number of people being honored at the parade for his work highlighting the struggles of his people. The parade is an event that gives all of us an opportunity to celebrate the Puerto Rican people and I proudly support their efforts.

“Additionally, I am curious as to why some people are so unwilling to give Oscar a second chance but glowingly highlight a visit from Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams to dedicate Easter Rising Way in Maspeth [last November] an effort that I also supported.”

Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Glendale) said she was not attending the parade but that her reasons had nothing to do with Lopez Rivera.

She also took issue with any implied criticism tying Adams, a leader in Northern Ireland Sinn Fein political movement, to terrorism. While he had been imprisoned by the British as a young man, he has continuously denied involvement with the Irish Republican Army, a violent revolutionary group long tied to Sinn Fein.

“Adams was central to bringing peace to a long, bloody conflict in Northern Ireland,” Crowley wrote. “I’m pleased that while he was visiting New York City, he could make time to celebrate a historic moment in Maspeth at the co-naming of Easter Rising Way.”

Councilman Rory Lancman (D-Fresh Meadows) will attend.

Do you ever feel like you're living in a bizarre nightmare by staying in NYC?

Call it what it is, Bill!

From ABC:

New York City's mayor said an explosion in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan Saturday night that injured 29 people was an "intentional act."

The explosion happened around 8:30 p.m. Saturday in front of 131 West 23rd Street, between Sixth and Seventh avenues.

Twenty-eight of the people hurt suffered minor injuries, and one person's injuries are being described as serious. All are expected to survive.

Debris landed on nearby cars and shattered some windows. Two cars on West 23rd Street and Sixth Avenue had their back windows blown out. An 8-year-old who was in the back seat was injured.

The incident was captured on multiple surveillance cameras.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said that while the blast appeared to be intentional, it does not appear to be linked to terrorism.

Can someone explain to me how there can be two bombs planted in the middle of Manhattan and the mayor is saying that it's not terrorism? Does he think we're stupid?

Never forgotten

K2 profits may fund terrorism

From PIX11:

K2 traffickers import chemicals that are mixed in China, mostly receiving them in the mail, and then spray the chemicals on dried leaves and package the product in colorful bags. The fake pot, which is then rolled in paper and smoked, has been sold for years over the counter in tobacco shops and bodegas.

The profits are enormous, and that’s remained a worry for the federal government, which acknowledges that millions of dollars have been wired overseas, possibly to pay for terror training and plots.

“It’s a concern that money from some of these organizations has gone back to countries in conflict,” the DEA’s Hunt told PIX11. “Yemen. Jordan. Syria. So, anytime we see money going back to these countries, it’s a concern for law enforcement, that it could be going to fund terrorism.”

Another vibrant and diverse terrorist

From the Queens Courier:

A 22-year-old man who claimed to be “ready to die” for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS or ISIL) was arrested at his Queens home by federal agents Thursday morning for allegedly making efforts to support the Mideast terrorist group.

Ali Saleh, whose exact address was not disclosed, allegedly made multiple unsuccessful attempts to travel to the area under ISIS control. His first failed attempt reportedly came when he booked a reservation for a flight from John F. Kennedy Airport to Istanbul, which he did not make.

“I’m ready to die for the Caliphate, prison is nothing,” he allegedly tweeted days before the scheduled flight.

In July of this year, prosecutors said, Saleh made additional attempts to travel to the Middle East and support ISIS, initially booking a flight from JFK to Cairo, Egypt. He allegedly used his Twitter account to reach out to an ISIS supporter known to instruct followers on how to travel to Libya, where ISIS is also present.

Synthetic pot is really bad news

From WPIX:

K2 is just one brand name among many types of synthetic marijuana flooding the marketplace in recent years — on the Internet, in gas stations, and at local delis. It’s packaged as potpourri or incense with warnings that it’s not for human consumption, but teenagers and poor addicts have been abusing it; sometimes, with deadly results.

Fifteen people have died in the United States this year from a bad reaction to synthetic pot with more than 4,300 calls made to poison control centers as of July 6. The reactions can be severe, with some users having psychotic episodes and exhibiting severely violent behavior.

Last year, federal agents raided stores in 29 states that were selling the phony pot, which is actually dried plant material sprayed with cannabinoids. The chemicals used to create the high are usually produced in China.

The feds were especially concerned about something else they found at a store in Birmingham, Ala. In Birmingham, the agents discovered $38 million worth of wire transfers to Yemen.

Yemen is known as a major base for terror training and plotting.

Why was all that money going to Yemen? Is the sale of synthetic marijuana a way to poison American youth—and finance terrorism at the same time?

Vibrant and diverse terrorist sympathizer

From CBS New York:

A college student in Queens is accused of planning a terror attack on New York City on behalf of ISIS.

Munther Omar Saleh was arrested on June 7 after allegedly trying to attack investigators who were following him, 1010 WINS’ Sonia Rincon reported.

Federal investigators said Saleh was in a green Jeep and had a knife on him when he was arrested near the Whitestone Bridge, CBS2’s Dave Carlin reported.

Saleh recently enrolled at a college in Queens that specializes in aeronautics and was taking a course in electrical circuitry, according to investigators.

According to court documents, the 20-year-old espoused jihadist beliefs online and openly supported ISIS activities via Twitter, including the Charlie Hebdo massacre in France, the burning to death of a Jordanian pilot and the beheading of a Japanese journalist. He also allegedly tweeted support for the terror attack in Garland, Texas in May.

Most Council Democrats support admitted terrorist

From the NY Post:

At the behest of Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, the City Council rammed through a resolution Wednesday urging President Obama to grant clemency to Puerto Rican terrorist Oscar Lopez Rivera.

The resolution — approved by 41 of the 51 council members with eight voting “no” and two abstaining — bizarrely paints the 72-year-old imprisoned and unrepentant leader of the terrorist FALN (Fuerza Armadas de Liberacion Nacional) as a “decorated Vietnam War veteran and community activist” who received a “disproportionate” 55-year prison sentence for his crimes.

“This resolution calls upon President Obama to grant clemency to Lopez Rivera, so that he is immediately released from prison, considering that his continued incarceration is unjust and serves no legitimate purpose,” the resolution says.

However, it fails to mention that authorities say Lopez Rivera conspired to transport explosives with intent to destroy federal government property and committed other related crimes — or that the FALN was deemed responsible for a reign of terror that killed six people and injured 130 others in at least 114 bombings.

They includes the 1975 bombing of historic Fraunces Tavern in the city’s Financial District, which left four people dead and wounded more than 50 others, and a New Year’s Eve 1982 bombing at Police Headquarters that maimed three NYPD cops who tried to defuse the explosives.

The only Queens councilmembers to vote against this resolution were: Lancman, Ulrich, Vallone and Weprin. In a city that still suffers from the effects of 9/11, there are elected representatives that think terrorism is no big deal.

Think about that for a while.

NYPD needs more officers to fight ISIS

From PIX11:

The New York Police Department and other law enforcement agencies around the nation are increasing their surveillance of ISIS supporters in the U.S., in part to aid the FBI which is struggling to keep up with a surge in the number of possible terror suspects, according to law enforcement officials.

The change is part of the fallout from the terrorist attack in Garland, Texas earlier this month. The FBI says two ISIS supporters attempted a gun attack on a Prophet Mohammad cartoon contest but were killed by police. One of the attackers, Elton Simpson, was already under investigation by the FBI but managed to elude surveillance to attempt the foiled attack.

FBI Director James Comey told a group of police officials around the country in a secure conference call this month that the FBI needs help to keep tabs on hundreds of suspects.

As a result, some police agencies are adding surveillance teams to help the FBI monitor suspects. Teams of NYPD officers trained in surveillance are now helping the FBI’s surveillance teams to better keep track of suspects, law enforcement officials say.

NYPD Commissioner William Bratton has said he wants to add 450 officers to the force’s counterterrorism unit, partly to counter the increasing domestic threat posed by ISIS sympathizers.

Terrorist worked at preschool

From the Daily News:

One of the two Queens women accused of plotting a homemade bomb strike on American soil worked at a preschool, where officials remained tight-lipped Friday after her arrest on terrorism charges.

Asia Siddiqui, a 31-year-old native of Saudi Arabia, was behind bars Friday, locked up with her best friend and accused sister in jihad Noelle Valentzas, 28.

“We have no comment at this time,” said a worker at 82nd Street Academics in Queens on the day after FBI agents arrested the two Al Qaeda-linked suspects at their homes.

The busts followed a two-year undercover probe, with the terrorist sympathizers accused of amassing bomb-making materials and studying bomb-making manuals while plotting their strike.

The self-identified citizens of the Islamic State — the terrorist organization responsible for beheading Western hostages — have billed themselves as “some bad bitches.”

Queens women charged with planning terrorist plot

From DNA Info:

Two Queens women were charged in connection to an al-Qaida-inspired terrorism plot to kill people with homemade explosives — and considered bombing a police funeral after the deaths of two Brooklyn NYPD officers, federal officials said.

The women, Noelle Velentzas, 28, and Asia Siddiqui, 31, who went by the aliases Najma Samaa and Murdiyyah respectively, were arrested Thursday morning as part of an undercover investigation dating back to May 2013, prosecutors said.

The pair are both United States citizens who lived in Queens, and until recently were roommates, according to court papers. Siddiqui had multiple propane gas tanks and instructions on how to use them as explosive devices, prosecutors said.

The duo discussed various targets including the Herald Square subway station and a police funeral after watching the massive gather of law enforcement personnel at the memorial service for NYPD Officer Rafael Ramos, who was murdered with his partner Wenjian Liu, prosecutors said.

3 Brooklynites charged with terror plot

From NBC:

Three Brooklyn men who allegedly plotted to travel to Syria to join ISIS and posted online messages about planting a bomb on Coney Island and shooting police officers were taken into custody during FBI and NYPD terror raids Wednesday, law enforcement officials tell NBC 4 New York.

The men, 24- and 30-year-old Uzbekistan citizens and a 19-year-old Kazakhstan citizen who all lived in Brooklyn, allegedly planned to return to New York to commit a domestic act of terror if they failed to join the group overseas, law enforcement officials said.

The youngest man, identified in a criminal complaint as Akhror Saidakhmetov, allegedly posted on an Uzbek-language website in the last six months that he would buy a machine gun and shoot police officers and FBI agents if his plan to join ISIS was thwarted. In August, 24-year-old suspect Abdurasul Hasanofvich Juraboev posted on the board that he would kill President Obama if ISIS asked him to and asked for help getting weapons, according to the complaint.

He also said he would plant a bomb on Coney Island if the terror group asked, the complaint said.