On-Again, Off-Again Terrorist
A jailhouse chat, a busted deal, and an odd tale of a guy named Omar
Convertino says Gershel refused to divulge Shishani's name and any details of what he might say because of a "promise" he had made to the defense team. "I said, `Are you kidding me?' " Convertino said. "We need to know who it is we're going to cross-examine and what he is going to say, now." Once they learned Shishani's name--from an FBI agent--says Convertino, it was Corbett, not Straus, who first insisted that Shishani submit to a polygraph to verify his upcoming testimony, as defendants are required to do, if asked, under plea agreements. Shishani refused. Straus ripped up the plea deal, despite past assurances that the two criminal matters were unrelated.
On May 7, Shishani testified that Hmimssa had told him he wanted revenge because Koubriti and his friends had given him up to the FBI. Shishani added that the government had forced him to testify, against his better judgment.
The story took another twist in October, when Straus, citing the Russian intelligence, tried to revoke Shishani's bond. Straus said the intelligence had surfaced in May, which would have been just after Shishani had been set free and around the time he testified against Hmimssa. "But we had no clue of this until I read it in October in the newspaper," says Convertino, who, along with Corbett, has been taken off the case. "That is information that should have been shared with us."
The judge denied Straus's request to have Shishani detained again as a suspected terrorist. But she did give Shishani a stiff sentence on the conspiracy charges after Straus and Collins argued against any leniency.
Hmimssa is now in prison awaiting sentencing. Shishani is in a medium-security federal prison in Illinois. O'Meara says Straus has told him the only way out for Shishani is if he admits he is a terrorist and cooperates fully. O'Meara says his personal appeals have fallen on deaf ears. All Straus will say is, "It's old news."
To contact the author: ragavanc@usnews.com
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