Times Square Car Bomb Suspect Pleads Guilty
Faisal Shahzad, the 30-year-old naturalized U.S. Citizen from Pakistan charged with the failed car bombing in Times Square in May, pleaded guilty in federal court this afternoon.
The New York Times reported that after Shahzad told Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum that he would plead guilty to attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, Cedarbaum asked: “I gather you want to plead guilty to all of them.” Shahzad said he did. He faced nine other charges.
Still unknown is whether Shahzad, who faces life in prison, will receive leniency in sentencing in return for his cooperation; legal experts speculated to the Times that Shahzad cooperated for so long without a lawyer that there may be no written agreement with authorities providing for this.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced last week that the car bombing was facilitated by a group affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban.
Reuters reports that Shahzad received $12,000 from the group. There have been several arrests in the case in Pakistan, Reuters reports, and that other suspects in Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York have been detained on immigration charges.
