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Owner Of Limo That Crashed And Killed Twenty May Have Helped FBI Foil A Terror Plot

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The owner of the limo that crashed and killed 20 people in Schoharie, New York, Saturday may be a former FBI informant who helped foil a terror plot in 2009.

Prestige Limousine owner Shahed Hussain has “the same name and address as that of a former informant for the FBI who has testified in two prominent terrorism cases,” reported The New York Times.

Hussain could face criminal charges after a limo he owned careened through an intersection and into a parked car, killing all 17 passengers, the driver and two pedestrians.

“The owner of the company had no business putting a failed vehicle on the road,” Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday.

New York State Police officials said they believe the owner, a Pakistani immigrant, is currently outside of the United States, reported The NYT.

Police have spoken with one of Hussain’s sons, according to a state law enforcement official cited by The NYT. The son is believed to operate the limo company.

New York is seeking a cease and desist against the limo company for the duration of the investigation into the accident, reported NEWS10.

The limo company owner is reportedly the same Shahed Hussain who infiltrated a group of four men from Newburgh, New York, when they conspired to blast two New York City synagogues, reported Fox News. Each of the “Newburgh Four” received 25 years in prison in the operation that was a “textbook example of how a major investigation should be conducted,” said then Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, according to Fox News.

Hussain the FBI informant started working in conjunction with the FBI after he ran into trouble with the law in 2002. He was charged for making money by helping people illegally obtain driver’s licenses in the Albany area, reported The NYT.

The FBI informant was also a key witness for the prosecution in “a 2004 federal sting focusing on a pizzeria owner and an imam at an Albany mosque,” according to The NYT.

The limo company owner was known as “Malik” to Arnie Cornett, who manages the hotel in Gansevoort, New York, that Hussain ran the limo company out of. “Malik” was also the pseudonym that Hussain the FBI informant used at one point, reported The NYT.

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