Watertown Man Linked to Times Sq. Bombing Reportedly Deported to Pakistan

Aftab Ali, the former Watertown man linked to last year's  failed car bombing in New York City's Times Square, has been sent home to Pakistan, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced Sunday.

Federal immigration officials accompanied the 28-year old Ali today on a flight from Boston to Islamabad, according to the release.

Ali had been arrested on immigration violations shortly after the car bomb attempt  took place on May 1, 2010.

Ali pleaded guilty to immigration and illegal money-transfer charges, but he did not face terrorism-related charges, according to ICE. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper sentenced Khan to time served, 11 months, and three years of
supervised release, according to ICE.

Khan's deportation part of a plea deal involving a deportation order that followed his admission that he lied to federal agents investigating him, according to the press release. Khan's request to appeal the deportation order was dismissed by the Board of Immigration Appeals on Jan. 4.

Federal authorities say he unwittingly supplied $4,900 to Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-American man who admitted to parking an sport utility vehicle filled with explosives in Times Square. Shahzad was convicted in the attempted bombing.

Ali had originally come under suspicion when federal investigators found that he had received cell phone calls from Shahzad, according to testimony submitted to Federal Court last November by Imigation and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Timothy Irving.

Phone records also show Shahzad made calls to the Mobil gas station in Brookline where Ali worked, according to court documents.

Ali also borrowed $5,000 from his manager at the Mobil. The money was then wired to Pakistan, investigators said, and they linked the transfer to money that was later sent to Shahzad.

Ali had come to the U.S. in August 2009 on a 90-day visa to get married.