LAWFUEL – The Law Newswire – The informant who helped bust the JFK airport terrorism case was involved with a violent drug gang and co-operated with investigators after NYPD detectives charged him over $2million in cocaine, according to the Smoking Gun website.
Additionally, the informant, Stevie “Toro” Francis, was previously convicted on felony charges for his involvement with a violent drug gang, a role which included him attempting to murder the leader of a rival Brooklyn narcotics operation.
Earlier this month, when federal officials announced charges against four men for plotting to blow up gas lines at JFK, a paid “confidential source” was credited with infiltrating the terror cell and gathering critical information–via tape recordings, documents, videos, and photographs–on the alleged plot. A footnote in a criminal complaint notes that the source had two prior drug convictions and was, through his cooperation, seeking leniency in sentencing on the latter trafficking rap.
While investigators have offered no additional information on the source’s identity, a TSG probe has confirmed that Francis, 36, is the informant who spent almost a year helping agents build the JFK case. Citing confidentially concerns, spokesmen for the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined comment on the government source and his prior criminal activity.
