How to resolve AdBlock issue? Glendon S. Crawford, 49, of 171 Hinds Road, Galway was arrested yesterday on a federal warrant along with Eric J. Feight, 54, of Hudson for plotting a terrorist attack to kill hundreds of people, most notably, those of the Muslim faith. Crawford and Feight knew each other from work—Crawford was employed by General Electric in Schenectady as an industrial mechanic and Feight was an outside contractor with access into General Electric and who has mechanical and engineering skills.
In a 66-page criminal complaint filed in United States District Court in Albany, FBI Special Agent Geoffrey Kent, who is the coordinator for the Weapons of Mass Destruction program, details the last 14 months in which Crawford allegedly sought out financial help to build the weapon, conspired with Feight to build it, and “assisted by others, has supervised and successfully completed the building, testing, and demonstration of a remote initiation device.”
That device was to be hooked onto a truck that had an industrial grade x-ray system earlier this week “weaponzing that system and allowing it to be turned on and off from a distance and without detection.”
Kent further states in the complaint: “Once completed and fully weaponized, Crawford has described his intention to provide the functioning radiation emitting device to individuals he believes will use it to injure or kill people deemed by Crawford to be undesirable (Crawford specifically has identified Muslims and several other individuals/groups as targets).”
According to the document, “The essence of Crawford’s scheme is the creation of a mobile, remotely operated, radiation emitting device capable of killing human targets silently and from a distance with lethal doses of radiation… [The targets] would not immediately be aware they had absorbed lethal doses of radiation, and the harmful effects of that radiation would not become apparent until days after the exposure,” wrote Kent.
Relatively small doses of radiation exposure can result in gastrointestinal effects such as nausea and vomiting as well as symptoms related to falling blood counts such as infections and bleeding. Relatively larger doses can result in neurological problems and rapid death.
Crawford is said to have approached the rabbi of the Congregation Gates of Heaven in April of 2012 and offered to help the Jewish people and Israel. The congregation declined his offers and directed him to the Jewish Federation of Northeastern New York, then called police and the federation to warn them.
That is when the elaborate sting operation began with help from an informant and undercover agents and covering several states.
In August of 2012, Crawford, who claims to have Klu Klux Klan ties—specifically the United Northern & Southern Knights of the Klu Klux Klan—supposedly drove to North Carolina to meet with an individual who is “believed to be a ranking member of the Klu Klux Klan” and told him of his plans and his need for financial help.
That is when the FBI stepped up their investigation and brought in more undercover agents to convince Crawford he had their support.
Over the course of the investigation, Crawford and Feight received monies from the FBI to build the device and they had told him they could provide him with the truck containing the x-ray device. The two men were supposed to meet with the undercover informants on June 18 to test the device and that is when they were arrested.
The signed complaint reveals hundreds of hours of text messages, phone calls and meetings in which Crawford and Feight allegedly are conspiring to and eventually built the remote control device, as well as their efforts to obtain the high powered x-ray machine.
The year-long investigation involved several law enforcement agencies including the Albany FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, the New York State Police, and the Albany Police Department.
If convicted, the men can face up to 15 years in a federal prison and fines of $250,000 each.
Both men are being held without bail. Their bail hearing was at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, after press time.
