Accountant charged in NYC with supporting terror is ordered held without bail
By Larry Neumeister, APMonday, May 17, 2010
Accountant held without bail in NYC in terror case
NEW YORK — An accountant charged in New York with conspiring to teach al-Qaida how to communicate more effectively with computers has been ordered held without bail.
A federal magistrate judge in Manhattan on Monday rejected a request by a lawyer for Sabirhan Hasanoff (sah-BEER’-hahn HAHS’-uhn-of) that he be kept under house arrest while he awaits trial.
Prosecutors say Hasanoff was an “extreme danger to the community” after he joined al-Qaida and “embraced its extremist ideology and radical goals.” They say he’s a danger to flee because he’s wealthy and has international connections after working as a highly paid accountant for years in New York and abroad.
Hasanoff pleaded not guilty to an indictment alleging he and a co-defendant conspired to buy wristwatches and do other tasks to help al-Qaida modernize.