A federal jury convicted Nahro Sudoi Innab, 70, of Rocky Mount, N.C., on three counts of making interstate calls to plan new murders while the Palestinian immigrant was in jail awaiting a prison term after pleading guilty to having tried to murder other people.
He faces up to 30 years in prison for the new convictions.
“This Palestinian immigrant came here to take advantage of the American dream, but he has repeatedly tried to hire thugs to murder his perceived enemies,” Ellis Boyle, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, stated on Friday.
“We will not tolerate this type of terror-spreading behavior,” Boyle said. “He needs to learn his lesson and behave in a civilized manner.”
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the septuagenarian had pleaded guilty to trying to arrange murders and was “sitting in jail awaiting the start of his prison term,” when he “tried to pay other inmates $10,000 per head to murder these men.”
“The intended victims were Rocky Mount small business owners,” the department said. “A cooperating defendant informed the FBI of the plot and captured an audio recording of Innab’s murderous plan.”
James Barnacle, FBI special agent in charge in North Carolina, stated that “even after being federally charged, arrested and pleading guilty to a murder-for-hire plot, Nahro Innab continued his demented and dangerous plans.”
“Thankfully, a coordinated law-enforcement effort thwarted multiple murderous plots, and he will be safely behind prison bars for years to come,” Barnacle said.
