Judge orders release of ‘Newburgh Four’ defendant and blasts FBI’s role in terror sting

By MICHAEL HILL
Associated Press

A man convicted in a post-9/11 terrorism sting was ordered freed from prison by a judge who criticized the FBI for relying on an “unsavory” confidential informant in an agency-invented conspiracy to blow up New York synagogues and shoot down National Guard planes. U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon on Friday granted James Cromitie compassionate release from prison. The order came six months after she ordered the release of his three co-defendants for similar reasons. The men are known as the Newburgh Four, and they were convicted of terrorism charges in 2010.