Woman With Alleged Terrorist Ties Gets Plea Deal

A Montreal woman linked to a group of Algerians thought to be plotting a bombing in the United States was ordered freed Tuesday after prosecutors said she had cooperated with investigators and had no knowledge of any terrorist activities.

Lucia Garofalo, 35, agreed to plead guilty to two immigration charges--transporting an illegal immigrant into the United States and conspiring to transport illegal immigrants. She is likely to be sentenced to six to 12 months in prison.

Garofalo had been held since Dec. 19, when she tried to enter Vermont from Canada with an Algerian man, Bouabide Chamchi, 20. They were charged with relatively minor immigration infractions, including trying to enter the United States illegally and using a stolen French passport.

Garofalo was released from jail Tuesday and placed in the custody of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which will free her, a process that could take several days.

Charges still are pending against Chamchi.

Prosecutors had used telephone records to indirectly link Garofalo with Ahmed Ressam, an Algerian man arrested Dec. 14 for allegedly crossing from Canada to Washington state with bomb-making parts in the trunk of his rental car. Ressam has pleaded not guilty to charges that he conspired to blow up targets in the United States.

Prosecutors had said a call from Garofalo’s cell phone was linked to Abdel Ghani Meskini, 31, who has pleaded not guilty in New York to charges of providing and concealing support for Ressam.

Prosecutors now say the call was made by another person, although Garofalo may have been present.