Osama Eldawoody is a US citizen with a self-proclaimed nuclear engineering degree who has worked as a paid
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
informant to work undercover in
Mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
s in the
New York metropolitan area
The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...
. In 2004, his work broke up a terrorist plot by
Shahawar Matin Siraj
Shahawar Matin Siraj is a Pakistani-American who was convicted in 2006 of plotting to bomb a New York City Subway station in Manhattan. Siraj was arrested in 2004 and found guilty of terrorism conspiracy.34th Street–Herald Square station of the
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
, and the
Macy's Herald Square
Macy's Herald Square (originally named the R. H. Macy and Company Store) is the Flagship#Retailing, flagship of Macy's department store, as well as the Macy's, Inc. corporate headquarters, on Herald Square in Manhattan, New York City. The buildi ...
Department Store, one of the largest in the world. However, in both instances, his methodology were reported to include entrapping the potential "terrorists" with aggressive and misleading tactics. Some have claimed he created the terrorist plots himself to entrap young and vulnerable people in order to get the FBI and NYPD payments and recognition, and that there weren't any credible terrorist threats to begin with.