BREAKING NEWS

Lebanese man gets 23 yrs for plotting Wrigley Field bombing

By REUTERS

MAY 31, 2013 06:59

A Lebanese immigrant in Chicago on Thursday was sentenced to 23 years in federal prison for plotting an attack and planting what he thought was a bomb near the city's Wrigley Field baseball park.

Sami Samir Hassoun, 25, pleaded guilty last year to charges of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and an explosive device after he placed what he thought was a homemade bomb in a garbage can in the north-side neighborhood during a busy Saturday night, according to court records.

He told an FBI informant and undercover agents he wanted to expose the city's inadequate security measures and embarrass then-Chicago Mayor Richard Daley into resigning, the criminal complaint against him said. It gave no further details as to motive.

In a series of planning meetings secretly tape-recorded by the FBI, Hassoun suggested various attacks including unleashing a virus on the city, poisoning its water supply, bombing the landmark Willis Tower skyscraper, attacking police officers or assassinating the mayor.

On Sept. 18, 2010, undercover agents gave him a fake bomb in a backpack and told him that it was capable of wiping out half a city block, court documents said.

"The thought of what might have happened if it was real is horrific," said US District Judge Robert Gettleman, who presided over the sentencing, in a statement released by the U.S. Attorney's office.

Hassoun then drove to Wrigleyville, the neighborhood surrounding Wrigley Field, the home of the Chicago Cubs. The area is known for its bars and restaurants and is densely populated, with blocks of apartment buildings.

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