3 of 4 men convicted in 2009 Newburgh synagogue terror plot ordered released from prison
NEWBURGH, N.Y. -- Three men convicted in a terrorism sting more than a decade ago have been ordered released from prison.
David Williams, Onta Williams and Laguerre Payen were part of a group known as the Newburgh Four.
They were arrested in 2009 and convicted a year later of plotting to blow up synagogues in the Riverdale section of the Bronx after planting fake bombs given to them by an FBI informant.
- Read more: 4 Men Convicted In Bronx Temple Bomb Plot
The same federal judge who imposed the sentence granted them compassionate release and said the three were caught up in a scheme by overzealous FBI agents.
"We knew that the judge understood that the case was unfair right from the very beginning. She called it the 'unterrorism' case ... so this should have been entrapment, but the way the law works, there pretty much is no entrapment defense anymore, and so they got convicted," said Kathy Manley, with the Coalition for Civil Freedoms.
The three men were originally sentenced to the mandatory 25 years in prison. They will be released in three months.
A fourth defendant, James Cromite, has not yet sought a compassionate release.
