Defense lawyer: 2 Mass. men have no connection to Times Square suspect, never heard of him

Lawyer: Mass. men unconnected to Times Sq. suspect

BOSTON — The lawyer for two Pakistani men arrested in Massachusetts on alleged immigration violations during the investigation into the failed Times Square bomb plot says neither man has any connection to the primary suspect.

Attorney Saher Macarius says Pir Khan and Aftab Khan had never heard of Faisal Shahzad (FY’-sul shah-ZAHD’) before they were arrested.

Federal authorities have said they believe the men funneled money to Shahzad through an informal money transfer network, but may not have known how the money would be used.

Macarius said he believes they were arrested because several days before the failed car bomb attempt, they booked flights from New York to Pakistan on the same route as Shahzad.

Aftab Khan has a bail hearing Thursday in Boston.