WaPo : FBI Informant's Role Emerges in Court Hearing

FBI Informant's Role Emerges in Court Hearing

Ex-Gang Member Who Converted to Islam Helped in Case of 2 Terrorism Suspects

By John Christoffersen | Associated Press | December 2, 2007

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- William Chrisman had three wives and nine children to support, he had a felony criminal record, and he struggled with panic attacks. Nevertheless, after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, he was determined to assist the federal government.

He became an informant for the FBI, and his work helped authorities charge two men -- both Muslim converts, like Chrisman -- who were suspected of supporting terrorism.

One of them, Derrick Shareef, 23, pleaded guilty Wednesday to plotting to set off grenades in an Illinois shopping mall. The other, Hassan Abujihaad, a former Navy sailor, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he gave terrorists secret information about the location of Navy ships and ways to attack them.

The role of Chrisman, 34, a former gang member, was revealed last week during a two-day hearing to determine what evidence can be admitted when Abujihaad's trial begins in February.

Chrisman left gang life more than a decade ago and converted to Islam while in prison for attempted armed robbery and possession of a stolen car. Now a sheep farmer in Illinois, Chrisman said that he had wanted to join the military since the 1991 Persian Gulf War, but that his criminal record prevented him from enlisting. After the Sept. 11 attacks, he walked into an FBI office and offered his services.

Since then, he has helped out on several cases.

In the fall of 2006, Chrisman said, authorities asked him to contact Shareef, who was working at a video store in the Chicago area.

Shareef had nowhere to live and accepted an offer to move in with Chrisman the same day they met. Chrisman says the arrangement was not so unusual, since Muslims are supposed to offer shelter for three days.

"It was a burden on my wives," Chrisman said in court. "Some of his behaviors were not good around my children."

Shareef discussed violent jihad, or holy war, and mentioned Abujihaad, describing him as a father figure whom he met in 2003 at a mosque in Phoenix and lived with for about seven months in 2003 and 2004, Chrisman said.

Abujihaad had been under federal investigation since 2004.

Chrisman, who secretly tape-recorded his conversations, said Shareef told him Abujihaad had passed along information about Navy ships.

"He told me that Abujihaad was on the ships in the Middle East and that he passed along information to a Web site," Chrisman testified.

Abujihaad denies that.

Chrisman also said Shareef told him that he and Abujihaad had discussed a plot to attack a military base in San Diego or a recruiting station in Phoenix. According to Chrisman, Shareef said Abujihaad even dispatched him to scope out the recruiting station.

Abujihaad, who was not charged over that alleged plot, taught Shareef about Islam and what he called defensive jihad, which meant they could attack military bases if American Muslims were attacked or rounded up, FBI Special Agent David Dillon testified.

Prosecutors said Abujihaad made coded references to al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in recorded phone calls.

Abujihaad repeatedly warned Shareef to be discreet, talking in code about "cold meals" and "fresh meals" that authorities said were references to outdated and viable plots. He referred to Osama bin Laden as "under the black leaves," logistical support as "L" and "7" as an upper level of paradise for those who die on the battlefield, prosecutors said.

Attorneys for Abujihaad have argued that the calls and other evidence, such as e-mails, should be thrown out because of a judge's ruling in another case in September that struck down portions of the USA Patriot Act.

Shareef was arrested last December when, authorities said, he tried to buy hand grenades and a gun from an undercover agent working with Chrisman. He faces at least 30 years in prison when he is sentenced March 14.

Chrisman said he called Abujihaad to tell him Shareef had been arrested.