The ringleader of a terrorist group convicted of plotting to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago learnws his fate when a judge sentenced him to 13 and a half years in prison Friday.
Narseal Batiste faced up to 70 years in prison for his role as the head honcho of the five Miami men who were convicted in May of supporting terrorism and conspiring to wage war on the U.S.
Batiste's four underlings also received considerably lighter sentences than what prosecutors requested.
Yesterday, 30-year-old Patrick Abraham was sentenced to nine years and 34-year-old Stanley Phanor got eight years in prison in sentences handed down by U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard.
On Wednesday, 24-year-old Burson Augustin was sentenced to six years in prison for his role in the plot. His older brother, 26-year-old Rotschild Augustine, was sentenced to seven years behind bars.
Prosecutors had pushed for sentences between 30 and 50 years. Lenard said they didn't deserve such harsh sentences since they were simply following Batiste's orders.
The five men who were also convicted of plotting to bomb FBI offices insisted they aren't guilty. Batiste, 35, testified that he had faked the terror plots to bilk an FBI informant out of $50,000. Two other men originally charged in the plots were acquitted.
