A former FBI special agent in New York and two
Connecticut men have been charged for their alleged roles in a bribery scheme
to dig up confidential information about a key figure in Bangladeshi politics,
the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan said.
Robert Lustyik, 50, was arrested Friday on an allegation
that he and a childhood friend, Johannes Thaler, 49, solicited cash from a
third man in exchange for documents and information to which Lustyik had access
to because of his FBI job.
The third man was identified as Rizve Ahmed, 34, also known
as "Caesar." Ahmed is an acquaintance of Thaler, both of whom live in
Connecticut.
Lustyik's lawyer, Raymond Mansolillo, on Saturday challenged
the investigation, which involved the Department of Justice's public integrity
unit, and insisted his client was innocent. At that time, Lustyik was still
being held in Utah, his lawyer said.
"We're going to fight the charges," Mansolillo
said. "My client is eager to go to trial."
According to the four-count criminal complaint, which was
unsealed Friday, Lustyik was working for the FBI in its White Plains, New York,
office in September 2011, when he became involved in the scheme, which
continued until March 2012.
It alleges that Ahmed, a native of Bangladesh, was seeking
confidential law enforcement information, including a confidential Suspicious
Activity Report, about a prominent citizen of his country affiliated with a
rival political party. The complaint identifies that person only as
"Individual 1."
"Ahmed sought, among other things, to obtain
information about Individual 1, to locate Individual 1, and to harm Individual
1 and others associated with Individual 1," the complaint says.
Ahmed paid at least $1,000 to the two other men for
information that included a suspicious activity report, according to the
complaint.
Citing text messages as evidence, it says that Lustyik and
Thaler discussed pressuring Ahmed to fork over extra money for the information.
"We need to push (Ahmed) for this meeting and get that
40gs quick .... I will talk us into getting the cash .... I will work my magic
.... We r sooooooo close", says Lustyik in one exchange, which occurred in
late December 2011 or early January 2012, according to the complaint.
Thaler is said to have responded, "I know. It's all
right there in front of us. Pretty soon we'll be having lunch in our oceanfront
restaurant ...."
Around January 2012, after learning that Ahmed was
considering using someone else to get the information, Lustyik allegedly sent
this text to Thaler: "I want to kill (Ahmed) .... I hung my ass out the
window n we got nothing? .... Tell (Ahmed), I've got (Individual 1's) number
and I'm pissed .... I will put a wire on n get (Ahmed and his associates) to
admit they want (a Bangladeshi political figure) offed n we sell it to
(Individual 1.)"
The complaint charges all three men with conspiracy to bribe
a public official; it charges Thaler and Lustyik with soliciting and receiving
bribes; it charges Ahmed with bribing a public official and offering to bribe a
public official; and it charges Lustyik with unlawfully disclosing a suspicious
activity report.
If convicted, Lustyik faces a maximum prison sentence of 25
years; Thaler and Ahmed each face a maximum of 20 years.
A call to Thaler's residence was not immediately returned;
CNN was not able to contact Ahmed.
In a statement on a website seeking funds for his legal
defense, Lustyik's family described him as "a highly decorated" agent
with more than 24 years of service in the counterintelligence division, and
said he had been "wrongfully accused."
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