New Jersey man is arrested for 'conducting intelligence-gathering operations for Hezbollah'

Daily Mail

A New Jersey man has been accused of conducting intelligence-gathering operations for Hezbollah across New York City. 

The U.S. Attorney's Office say Alexei Saab, 42, of Morristown was charged Thursday in a nine-count indictment for offenses related to his support for the terrorist outfit and separate marriage-fraud offenses.

He is alleged to have joined Hezbollah in 1996 before lawfully entering the US using a Lebanese passport in 2000 and becoming a naturalized citizen in 2008.  

Locations including the United Nations headquarters, the Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, the Empire State Building, and local airports, tunnels, and bridges are said to have been under his surveillance. 

And Saab is said to have provided detailed information on these locations to Hezbollah, including photographs and their structural weaknesses.  

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers said: 'According to the allegations, while living in the United States, Saab served as an operative of Hizballah and conducted surveillance of possible target locations in order to help the foreign terrorist organization prepare for potential future attacks against the United States.