June 23, 2008 | 5:23 pm

Terror cell member sentenced for plotting LA attacks

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

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Washington

Levar Washington, a prison convert to an extremist brand of Islam, was sentenced today to 22 years for planning to blow up Los Angeles military institutions, synagogues and the Israeli consulate. Washington and two other members of the cell pleaded guilty in December:

Torrance police stumbled on the cell when they arrested Washington and Patterson in a string of gas station robberies intended to raise money for the planned attacks.

A search of Washington’s apartment yielded “jihadist” literature, a cache of weapons, a target list and a lead to James as the JIS leader. A search of the latter’s cell produced the draft of a press release to be issued after the first attack, which included a warning to “sincere Muslims” to avoid potential targets, including “Jewish and non-Jewish supporters of an Israeli state.”

Listed as planned targets were National Guard and military installations and a range of Jewish targets, such as the “Headquarters of Zion,” followed by the address of the Israeli consulate, an unexplained “Camp site of Zion,” and the El Al ticket counter at the Los Angeles International Airport—the site of a murderous rampage in 2002, which killed two Israeli Americans—and two synagogues.

The irony is that this terror cell was discovered by chance, whereas several cases that the U.S. Department of Justice brought against alleged terrorist organizations and individuals turned into international embarrassments because of shoddy investigative work and overzealous prosecutors. And I thought terrorists were the dumb ones?