Eyed ‘for years’
Feds had tabs on W. Side terror susp: filing
The ISIS sympathizer accused of killing eight people in the Hudson River bike path attack was under government surveillance “for years,” according to new court papers.
The revelation included in a heavily redacted filing in Manhattan Federal Court from Sayfullo Saipov’s defense team raises questions about whether the government could have done more to prevent the alleged act of terrorism by the unhinged Uzbek.
“The government revealed it had been surveilling Mr. Saipov and two of his associates for years, recording his conversations with them to gather information about his personal contacts, professional experiences, finances, and potential exposure to ISIS propaganda, violent jihadism, and Islamic extremism,” Saipov’s federal defender, Andrew Dalack, wrote on Monday.
Prosecutors disclosed the feds had been spying on Saipov prior to the Oct. 31, 2017, attack only five months ago. The government has refused to reveal more details because prosecutors do not plan to introduce the surveillance during trial.
Dalack argues the surveillance has major implications for his death penalty trial scheduled for next year. Saipov’s defense could argue there were others who influenced him and share culpability for the alleged terrorist attack.
The new filing includes specific examples of how Saipov’s attorneys have come to a new understanding of his alleged “radicalization.” The passages are redacted from the memo posted in court records.
But Saipov’s legal team says it does not have a full grasp of the government’s investigation into his “background, activities, and exposure to violent jihadism.”
They previously wrote that the government had turned over about 1,000 pages of summaries of phone calls from before the attack, mostly translated from Uzbek, as well as audio recordings of Saipov with “various targets of FBI surveillance.”
A former law enforcement source familiar with the Saipov investigation previously told the Daily News that the ISIS sympathizer had been caught on a wiretap before the truck attack speaking with a fellow Uzbek.
The new filing confirms Saipov was an investigative target prior to the 14-block rampage in a rental pickup truck. A police officer shot Saipov in the abdomen, ending the mayhem.
Last year the alleged terrorist delivered a pro-ISIS rant in court that he does not recognize the “weak minds” who created man-made laws.