Four Puerto Ricans Convicted in Plot to Bomb Military Sites
Four alleged members of the Puerto Rican nationalist group FALN were found guilty in U.S. District Court Monday of plotting to blow up two military installations in the Chicago area to press for independence for their homeland.
The defendants were charged with seditious conspiracy for plotting to bomb the facilities, conspiring to break fellow FALN members out of prison and planning to rob a rapid transit bus to finance the operation. The bombings were planned for July 4, 1983, but were thwarted by federal agents.
The jury, which deliberated more than 25 hours, split the verdicts. Defendants Edwin Cortes, 30, and Alberto Rodriguez, 32, were found guilty on all eight counts, Alejandrina Torres, 46, was convicted on all but an armed robbery charge, and Jose Luis Rodriguez, 24, was found guilty of one count of seditious conspiracy.
U.S. District Judge George Leighton set sentencing for Oct. 4. The four face penalties ranging from 20 to 81 years in prison.
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