Judge upholds verdicts in Bronx synagogue temple plot

A federal judge has upheld the verdicts of four men convicted of plotting to blow up New York City synagogues and shoot down military planes.

But Judge Colleen McMahon also scolded the government for presenting a case that relied on an FBI informant whose methods she suggested bordered on entrapment.

The defense had sought to convince McMahon to throw out the convictions, saying “the government created the criminal and then they manufactured the crime.“

McMahon acknowledged there was some truth to that argument. But she said the government’s behavior didn’t rise to the level of “outrageous misconduct.“


The men — James Cromitie, David Williams, Onta Williams and Laguerre Payen — were arrested in 2009. They were found guilty of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction and other charges.