Remember that horrific limousine accident in upstate New York?
Remember how the limo was falling apart, and the driver lacked proper licenses?
Well, we may now have an idea as to why this particular company was given a pass by regulators, its owner was a big time FBI informant.
In fact, this guy was commonly referred to as a “Superinformant“, and seemed to spend a lot of his time, as is the FBI’s wont, finding swarthy people who had very little intention of doing anything, and turning them into terrorism defendants.
The FBI does have a history of becoming excessively involved with the shady business dealings of its informants, the Boston office was almost a partner of James Joseph “Whitey” Bulger Jr.’s during his blood-soaked run through Beantown’s criminal underworld:
The aging limousine that crashed Saturday in Schoharie County, killing 20, was operated by a company with a record of failed inspections — and an owner who was a controversial FBI informant.
The 2001 Ford Excursion was operated by Prestige Limousine, a small company that shares an address with a run-down motel in the Saratoga County town of Wilton, just north of tony Saratoga Springs.
The company is owned by Shahed Hussain, whose backstory includes numerous stints as an undercover informant for the FBI.
Authorites said Hussain, 62, is in his native Pakistan at present. Other company officials have pledged to cooperate with the investigation.
Asked whether Hussain is under criminal investigation, State Police Major Robert Patnaude said anyone found to be criminally culpable will be “held accountable.”
……
Albany-area lawyer Dana Salazar, who represented Shahed Hussain in a civil action against Saratoga County that revolved around the Saratoga Road motel property, verified on Monday that her client had indeed been the celebrated informant.
Hussain emigrated from Pakistan in the early 1990’s, fleeing a murder charge that he later said was trumped up, according to news reports. He worked as a translator for the New York state Department of Motor Vehicles but was caught helping people cheat on DMV exams in return for money.
He later was accused of making fraudulent statements in a personal bankruptcy case as well.
Hussain pleaded guilty to a felony in relation to the DMV scam but avoided prison and deportation by becoming an informant, working in New York’s Muslim communities to find people that had radical tendencies.
……
“And, perhaps perversely, it’s hard not to come away without some degree of admiration for Mr. Hussain, seen and heard only in the grainy videos shot in his car and living room,” reviewer Mike Hale. “He puts on a superior performance over a long period of time and lies with breathtaking ease and quickness. If there were Oscars for informants, he’d be on the red carpet every year.”
In the article, you have his hotel being shut down by authorities, multiple problems with his limo service, but he was always allowed to continue operating.
It’s not exactly the same as Winter Hill Gang boss Bulger and Stephen Joseph “The Rifleman” Flemmi using their status as informants to get FBI protection and take out rivals, but it certainly seems to rhyme.