Times Square Bomb Plot SUV Recently Sold On Craigslist for Cash

[sabra]

Source: CBS News

Sources tell CBS News the last registered owner of the 1993 Nissan Pathfinder - found in Times Square Saturday night - told authorities he recently sold the vehicle to a "Middle Eastern" or "Hispanic" looking man for $1,300 cash in $100 bills on Craigslist.

Authorities interviewed the Pathfinder's registered owner Sunday night, but say he is not a suspect in the case.

The vehicle identification number on the Pathfinder had been removed from the dashboard, but it was stamped on the engine and axle. Its license plates came from a car found in a Connecticut repair shop.

In addition to this lead, police are also trying to track down a man seen on a surveillance tape released by NYPD earlier this morning, which shows a man in his 40s in Shubert Alley near Times Square removing a dark colored shirt to reveal a red shirt underneath and looking around "furtively."

Authorities are also reviewing a tape, yet to be released, shot by a Pennsylvania tourist who was filming the mounted police officer, Wayne Rhatigan, who initially responded to the suspicious vehicle.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31727_162-20004018-10391695.html?tag=cbsContent;cbsCarousel

[greencharlie]

1. mmmm hmmmm... yup. nt

[Renew Deal]

2. So there's multiple people in on this?

The guy who bought the car and the guy who dropped it off. Also, possibly another person that ran off.

[greencharlie]

4. why you think 2 people? nt

[spotbird]

3. OK, but why would somone try to remove

the vins on the car if it was untraceable? I'd look a little harder if I was the authorities.

[slackmaster]

5. The most likely explanation is plain stupidity

Every modern vehicle bears many copies of its VIN. Removing the one you can see through the windshield is an act of pure dumbassery, a complete waste of time.

[bongbong]

6. Solid evidence!

That is an almost airtight piece of evidence that it was a teabagger.

[Ian David]

7. International terror masterminds are not this stupid. I smell teabags. n/t

[skip fox]

10. I'm guessing more fringe than Tea Bagger. More Neo-Nazi.

Though the seller says the person who bought the car was of hispanic or middle-eastern origin.

My guess is a McVeigh copy cat.

Parallels between NY City attempted bombing and Timothy McVeigh’s bombing:

The botched NY bombing shares a number of striking parallels with the Timothy McVeigh bombing in Oklahoma City beside the obvious vehicle-building-walk-cooly-away narrative . . . although that, in itself, is very compelling–the botched bomber replicating the act of his (or her?) hero in broad strokes. But there seem to be a couple light strokes as well.

The botched bomber placed eight bags of fertilizer which the investigators say was non-explosive, into a gun box. If he knew the fertilizer was useless, it would be a clear homage to McVeigh. (The gun box being a tip of the hat to McVeigh's military background.) (If he didn't know this it could still be an homage, hoping to replicate his hero's methods as closely as possible.)

The NY attempted bomber locked the van's doors, leaving the keys inside. Some accounts say McVeigh left the keys in the Ryder's cab and locked the doors. (I think the case is that he took the keys, but there is no accounting where these people get their information. Source: http://history1900s.about.com/cs/crimedisaster/p/okcitybombing.htm)

Fireworks went off in the NY van alerting vendors. The attempted bomber appeared to be inept in a number of ways, so it is not likely that the clock set off the fireworks. It is more likely that he lit a long fuse. Similarly, McVeigh lit two fuses just before he left the Ryder.


Additionally, MSNBC played a show based on The McVeigh Tapes: Confessions of an American Terrorist on the 19th of April.

I could be way off, but if I was leading the investigation I'd be putting resources into this question, hoping to find him before he is successful with his homicidal intentions.


Therefore, in an investiation taking these matters seriously:

I’d look into far-right web/hate sites, those where McVeigh is discussed glowingly. Maybe Free Republic.

Since the person’s issues were important enough to kill for, I think his alignment to McVeigh would be apparent in his screen name (anagram of “Timothy McVeigh”? a character’s name in The Turner Diaries?)

I'd look very closely at those who passionately referenced MSNBC’s April 19th The McVeigh Tapes: those who ranted against MSNBC's commentary and/or those who relished new McVeigh quotes from the tapes.

I’d perhaps put some resources looking into the extreme fringe of the Tea Party, but I think the far-right hate sites would be more fruitful . . . (In which case the FBI should soon be onto him . . . or her!)

[Ian David]

12. Neo-Nazis have experience and infrastructure in this sort of thing, too.

Teabaggers have Glenn Back and what they see on TV.

That's why I'm guessing the Cargo Cult Bomb is a teabagger production.

[skip fox]

19. fine point

McVeigh didn't make any mistakes that stood in the way of a high body count.

So a fringe Becker (though I dislike them greatly, I'd hesitate to point too strongly at the Tea Baggers in general for this level of distruction) who may have been childishly enamored of McVeigh

[Ian David]

23. They chose the Teabagger name themselves. However, if you want to avoid sexual innuendo...

May I suggest calling them The TeaKlan?

[bigworld]

18. Or just an incompetent lone wolf like the 2007 UK bombings

in London (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_London_car_bombs)
and in Glasgow (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Glasgow_International_Airport_attack)

Lots of similarities all around.

Let's not automatically shout teabagger until we know more.

[TheEuclideanOne]

25. A friend of mine who described it to me today

said that there were two butane tanks in the vehicle along with a large amount of fireworks. I thought to myself.... yep two teabaggers listening to Glenn Beck and Rush and some backyard cookout travelled past Alabama, picked up some fireworks to complete their plan.

[spotbird]

26. Exactly,

In the first WTC bombing the truck was discovered by the VIN on the axle. An Islamic Extremeist® would have learned this in Terrorism 101.

[slackmaster]

27. Or just a dumbshit

:nuke:

[Bluzmann57]

8. So what?

I've paid cash for vehicles. Does that make me a mad bomber?

[EFerrari]

15. I know. What an idiotic headline.

[Ruby the Liberal]

24. Did you get the title or just take off once you had the keys?

[Pab Sungenis]

9. I said that a clever bomber would claim the car had been stolen.

Claiming that it's been "sold" to a brown person raises as much suspicion in my book. You have to sign over the title when you sell; he should know the person's name.

[Ian David]

13. I was thinking the same thing, too. But we'll have to wait and see. n/t

[BrklynLiberal]

17. EXACTLY!

[hugo_from_TN]

32. Why would he know the person's name?

He signs the title and hands it over. The dude says my name is Joe, or Jose, or whatever. You think he's going to ask for ID or something? I wouldn't.

[skip fox]

34. Isn't there bonded person who does the book work and takes tax money and names of each?

n/t

[hugo_from_TN]

36. It's been a while since I sold a car to an individual,

but last time I did it you just sign the back of the title. There was no other party involved and no records taken. The plates get turned back into the DOT.

[Iowa]

40. I have done that too. And it's a very shitty system, IMO...

Shitty in the sense that there's no official third party present to document the transaction. This is the scenario that bothers me:

I sign over the title, remove the plates, and the guy drives off. Ten minutes later he slams into another vehicle, kills five people, and walks away without a scratch. According to the state, I'm still the owner of a vehicle that just killed five people, and the guy I sold the car to is long gone.

Next time I sell a car, I plan to do it differently.

[rpannier]

37. No

I've sold a couple of cars and all I did was sign the back of the title and take my money

It's the responsibility of the person receiving the car to register it

[skip fox]

38. In LA we need a Notery to sign, check the identifications, and collect sales taxes.

n/t

[rpannier]

47. Interesting...

Not a bad idea on your states part

It does prevent fraudulent sales -- I could claim the car is mine. Sell it. Get the cash and leave the other guy out money and a car.

[Jumping John]

11. Usually the buyer has to contact the seller thru the Internet so hopefully the Feds can trace the

buyer thru Craigslist. I think that is how they found the Med School serial killer.

[Tx4obama]

20. I was going to say the same thing - trace him thru Craigslist records!

Hopefully the FBI or whoever will think of doing that!

[Duer 157099]

28. Lots of people just post their phone number in the ad

no need to reply by email. Unless you mean the access logs?

[skip fox]

14. Whoever it is, if he (or she?) is stupid enough to stake their life planting an inept bomb

or doesn't realize that there ae multiple VIN numbers on a car, then the person is NOT SMART ENOUGH to avoid discovery.

That is, we will get him (or her?).

[BrklynLiberal]

16. I am skeptical.....he sold his car to someone & just took the money and ran...no ID

no transfer of ownership? Just too weird.

BTW..It was a TShirt vendor, on the street, a military vet..who first spotted the smoking car and pointed it out to the mounted policeman

[Ruby the Liberal]

21. Um, if I sold a car and the buyer didn't ask for the title, I think I would be turning

email exchanges over to the police.

Unless they just listed a phone number, but still. That is highly suspicious behavior.

[X_Digger]

42. Not if you're buying it for parts. I've done that with VW bugs. n/t

[Ruby the Liberal]

43. Good point

[starroute]

44. But the ad emphasized that the car was in good running condition

I don't have the text of it in front of me, but it said something about the picture showing some rust but that everything was in good shape mechanically and the car ran swell.

The car was not being sold for parts, so the seller would have had no reason to believe the buyer didn't intend to drive it.

[Ruby the Liberal]

45. He apparently drove it off, so there is that.

I don't know. Maybe its my cynical nature, but if someone didn't want/care/ask for the title, I would be suspicious.

[Merchant Marine]

22. We need to close the car show loophole

[SkyDaddy7]

31. That was funny!!

[Robb]

41. DUzy! nt

[jberryhill]

29. Craigslist?

Police further stated they are looking for a 55 year old single white man who is willing to be generous with the right younger woman.

[SoDesuKa]

30. Excellent

Thank you for the best laugh I've had all day. Excellent!

[damntexdem]

33. Hmm, a '"Middle Eastern" or "Hispanic" looking man.'

Too bad the decline of Communism means that people no longer identify 'Commie-looking' people.

;-)

[OrwellwasRight]

46. "Commie Looking"

LMAO.

[peacetalksforall]

35. This may have been said many times - I believe he/she/they are

Obama haters. Lion = Africa King = President Performers = Black Americans (mostly)? (I haven't seen the Lion Kingm but the trailer for the stage show included two performers who could be thought of as Obama and Michelle. Perhaps a white supremacist got the idea watching his children watch the DVD? I may be way off about what is in the story, but the two words Lion and King say plenty).

Is there information about the timer - the time it was set to go off -was there any indication that it was set to go off when the performance ended? Or while the ticket holders would be entering?

International terrorists? If it were International terrorists, would they park in front of the theatre where the Lion King is being performed in order to make it look like it was American terrorists?

Why did they pick that spot? Just because there would be people there. I think it means plenty.

Then again, it could be the take-out group of the CIA - the ones with plenty of e xperience setting up bombings in the Middle East, Cuba, Washington, DC. etc.

Firecrackers and Fertilizer in Manhatten - probably not the CIA. On the other hand, if they wanted to make it look like it was a McVeigh type person and not really want it to go off, but to use it to say it was Iranians- it could be the CIA or Pentagon or Mossad.

I hope they don't focus all their attention on Moslem (or Mexican) killers. Think us.

[Bette Noir]

39. If it had been intelligence professionals, it would have exploded.