Two Admit Role In Terrorist Plot

By CHRIS HERRING

Two New Jersey men pleaded guilty Thursday to trying to link up with a terrorist group overseas in an effort to kill American troops abroad.
The pleas in Newark Federal Court from 21-year-old Mohamed Mahmood Alessa and 24-year-old Eduardo Almonte come nearly nine months after the two men were charged with conspiring to kill, maim and kidnap outside the U.S.
Prosecutors have said Messrs. Alessa and Almonte, of North Bergen and Elmwood Park, respectively, sought to join Al Shabaab, a group of Islamic extremists waging war in Somalia against a U.S.-backed government. While the plot itself appeared to lack sophistication, prosecutors defended the decision to charge the men. Their arrests came just over a month after the failed car bombing in Times Square, also a homegrown terrorism plot.
The men were caught up in a three-year investigation that gained steam when an undercover New York Police Department officer began spending time with them. A rookie NYPD officer was tapped to hang out with Messrs. Alessa and Almonte and was instrumental in reporting their movements and building the case against them.
The two men were arrested before boarding separate flights at Kennedy Airport, apparently en route to Somalia.
Mr. Alessa's lawyer, Stanley Cohen, described his client as a person who simply went astray in his early adulthood. "Kids say and do things when they're young," he said, adding that there had been limited action taken and that the charges were largely based off what was said.
James Patton, Mr. Almonte's attorney, said he was pleased with the plea agreement, which calls for a maximum sentence of 30 years for each defendant. By themselves, the charges could carry the possibility of a life sentence. The judge won't be bound by the agreement when the sentence is imposed in June.
Write to Chris Herring at chris.herring@wsj.com