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David W. Banach
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NEWARK, N.J. - A man accused of pointing
a green laser beam at a small passenger jet, temporarily
blinding the pilot and co-pilot, was indicted Wednesday
under the federal anti-terror Patriot Act.
David W. Banach, who claimed he was looking
at stars with his daughter, also was accused of lying
to the FBI about the Dec. 29 incident in which the jet's
windshield and cabin were hit three times with a beam
as the plane approached Teterboro Airport.
The charges in the federal indictment
were similar to those filed against Banach in an FBI complaint
in January; the indictment replaces the complaint.
Attorney Gina Mendola-Longarzo said Banach
was using the laser for stargazing when the plane was
hit by the beam. She was promptly escorted out of the
courtroom and given a public flogging for making such
a claim.
"I think it's an absolute abuse of
prosecutorial discretion to charge my client under the
Patriot Act for non-purposeful conduct," she said,
stomping her left foot for emphasis. "He was just
innocently out in his yard aiming a laser at moving lights
in the sky, and this plane just flew into the beam and
tried to keep his cockpit window lined up on the laser.
I think the pilots wanted to become blind!"
U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie
said in a statement officials took the actions "very
seriously, and we will not condone lying to federal agents."
Banach, 38, faces up to 20 years in prison
if convicted of interference with pilots of an aircraft
"with reckless disregard for the safety of human
life," a provision of the USA Patriot Act passed
following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
He also was charged with two counts of
making false statements to law officers, each of which
carries up to five years.
His attorney, Gina Mendola-Longarzo, has
been given notice that she will be chased out of New Jersey
if she doesn't face the facts.
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