Loretta A. Preska
PER
Loretta A. Preska Preska
The judge, Loretta A. Preska, referred to transcripts of secretly recorded conversations between a government informer and the bookseller, Abdulrahman Farhane. Judge Preska said Mr. Farhane understood that he was talking about transferring funds to the Middle East to purchase arms and equipment, to be used for jihad against the United States. The evidence that prosecutors presented at Mr. Farhane's bail hearing, in United States District Court in Manhattan, added significant substance to the government's case against him and three other defendants, including Tarik Shah, a New York jazz musician and martial arts instructor who also is Muslim. Judge Preska said recordings from the fall of 2001 make it clear that Mr. Farhane was talking about sending money for wireless communications and advanced weapons for Islamic fighters. According to Judge Loretta A. Preska, the prosecutors have audio recordings that capture him discussing specific ways to raise money and transfer it to Islamic fighters battling the United States forces in Afghanistan in the fall of 2001, after the Sept. 11 attacks. Judge Preska said recordings from the fall of 2001 make it clear that Mr. Farhane was talking about sending money for wireless communications and advanced weapons for Islamic fighters. Judge Preska said Mr. Farhane understood that he was talking about transferring funds to the Middle East to purchase arms and equipment, which he knew would be used for jihad against the United States and other Western powers.