A Pakistani-born Chicago taxi driver has pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to al-Qaida as part of a plea deal hammered out recently with prosecutors.
Dressed in an orange jumpsuit and his ankles shackled, Raja Lahrasib Khan told a judge Monday that he was pleading guilty to one count of two counts of attempting to provide material support.
As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped the other count against the 58-year-old.
Khan was accused in 2010 of taking steps to send cash to Pakistan-based terrorist leader Ilyas Kashmiri.
A conviction on just one count of providing material support carries a maximum 15-year sentence. The plea deal recommends a sentence of between five and eight years.
"He's a 59-year-old man and he can count. He will at least have a life. Five years to eight years gives him a life. Thirty years to life would have been a death sentence for all intents and purposes," said Khan's attorney, Tom Durkin.
The U.S. attorney's office says the sentencing date is May 30.
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