Man sentenced to 30 years in NYC sting bomb plot

A U.S. judge sentenced a Bangladeshi man to 30 years in prison on Friday for attempting to blow up the Federal Reserve Bank in New York.

Quazi Nafis, 22, was sentenced after pleading guilty in February to charges of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to provide support to al-Qaeda.

In a federal sting operation, Nafis selected his target, drove a van loaded with dummy explosives to the door of the bank, and tried to set off the bomb from a hotel room using a cellphone he thought had been rigged as a detonator, authorities said. No one was ever in danger because the explosives were fakes provided by the government.

"I'm ashamed. I'm lost. I tried to do a terrible thing. I alone am responsible for what I've done. Please forgive me," Nafis said before his sentence was handed down in Manhattan federal court.

He apologized to the judge, the United States, New York City and his parents.

According to lawyers from the defense and the prosecution, Nafis became radicalized while at his university in Bangladesh and came to the U.S. with violent intentions. Personal problems were reportedly also a factor.

Nafis originally came to the U.S. to study cyber security at a Missouri college, where he also became vice president of the school's Muslim student association. Because of his poor grades, Nafis was on academic probation, and he moved to New York to find a job.

While in New York, he discovered that a woman he cared about in Bangladesh was cheating on him, he said. Nafis said the news made him suicidal, which is forbidden in his religion, he said, and that pushed him over the edge.

Authorities say Nafis used social media to find support for a terror attack as he adopted increasingly more radical views. One of his contacts turned out to be a government informant who notified authorities.

In a five-page typed letter to Judge Carol Bagley Amon, Nafis said he was no longer a believer in radical Islam.

"My actions are inexcusable and cowardly," the letter read. "After giving a deep thought, I truly hate my actions and I know that I will never pursue such behavior again that is not only un-Islamic, but also destroyed my family and my life."

Nafis spoke of his admiration for Osama bin Laden and planned to write an article about his plot for an al-Qaeda-affiliated magazine. He also discussed wanting to kill President Barack Obama and bomb the New York Stock Exchange, officials said.

Nafis said he has been treated very kindly while in the U.S. — and in prison. "Everybody is very respectful towards religion," he wrote. He has been allowed to pray, and given halal food and fresh fruits.

"Truly after being in prison, my viewpoints toward America has really changed," he said. "I want to say to Your Honor that I love Americans."

Al Jazeera and The Associated Press