By Ben Fractenberg, Adam Nichols and Tom Liddy
DNAinfo Staff
MANHATTAN - Two Queens men bent on jihad were nabbed for hatching hate-filled plot, complete with disguises, to bomb synagogues in Manhattan as well as the Empire State Building, authorities said.
The suspects, both immigrants from North Africa, were brought down in a sting in Midtown Wednesday night when they allegedly tried to buy guns, ammunition and a hand grenade from undercover officers.
One of the susepcts, Ahmed Ferhani, 26, said that he was sick of the way Muslims were being treated around the world, according to Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.
His alleged accomplice, Mohamed Mamdouh, 20, a livery cab dispatcher, allegedly said: "I hate Jews," to which Ferhani replied, "I want to kill them," Kelly said.
"In addition to discussing the bombing of synagogues 'one after another,' Ferhani also expressed interest in bombing the Empire State Building," he said.
Cops pulled the trigger on the arrest "because of Ferhani’s interest in obtaining weapons and his expressed desire to construct increasingly powerful bombs," according to the commissioner.
"We believe that [Ferhani] had great potential to cause mayhem," he added.
Both men were considered "lone wolves" like the two men who plotted to bomb the Herald Square subway station in 2004, Kelly said.
Ferhani, 26, was allegedly obsessed with making sure he didn't repeat the mistakes of Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad, who was tracked down through his use of credit cards.
According to the criminal complaint, Ferhani stressed the importance to an undercover cop of using cash rather than plastic so they wouldn't get caught like this "d—khead got caught, the one that put the car in Times Square."
Ferhani, an Algerian immigrant who had been granted political asylum, began discussing his hatred for Jews with an undercover in October 2010, court documents said.
He allegedly told the officer that he wanted to provide support for Gaza and travel there to kill Israeli soldiers, becoming a martyr.
In April, he and Mamdouh, originally from Morocco, set their sites on Manhattan, discussing their plans to blow up a synagogue.
"Hell yeah, I would love to blow that motherf—ker up," Mamdouh allegedly said, according to his criminal complaint.
It’s not clear which synagogue they were targeting, but according to court documents, it was the biggest in Manhattan.
Ferhani planned to "disguise himself as a Jewish worshiper, attend services at a synagogue and, while pretending to pray, leave a bomb in the synagogue," the complaint said.
The suspect was confident that they wouldn't get caught because "how would anyone 'know that I'm not a Jew coming in here, dressed like that? Shalom. Shalom.' " the documents said.
Ferhani allegedly discussed buying a grenade, multiple guns and a silencer to be used in the plot as well as building bombs.
"The consistent themes in all of these conversations was his desire to blow up a synagogue and his hatred of Jews," court documents said.
"Muslims is getting abused all over the world," he allegedly said. "I ain't gonna accept it."
On Wednesday night, the suspects drove to West 58th Street and Twelfth Avenue in Midtown to buy the weapons from an arms dealer, who turned out to be an undercover cop, officials said.
Ferhani allegedly brought a $100 down payment and promised to deliver the rest of the cash later. He also expressed interest in bullet-resistant vests and police radios, police said.
The undercover posing as the arms dealer agreed to "front" the weapons, including two Browning .380 caliber semi-automatic pistols, one Smith and Wesson .9mm, three boxes of ammo and one inert grenade.
That’s when cops pounced and placed him in cuffs. Mamdouh was arrested nearby on Ninth Avenue and West 57th Street.
They face a variety of charges including conspiracy as a crime of terrorism, conspiracy as a hate crime, criminal possession of a weapon and attempted criminal possession of a weapon as a crime of terrorism, court documents said.
Both men who were held without bail Thursday night, face life in prison without parole if convicted of the charges.
The case will go to grand jury May 17.
Mamdouh's lawyer, Steven Fusfeld said his client was not a major part of the alleged plot.
"I pointed out to the judge there are certain differences between my client and the other," he said.
Ferhani's lawyer, Stephen Pokart said he "denies the charges."
