''The Newburgh Sting'' is a 2014 documentary film about the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

sting operation In law enforcement, a sting operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person attempting to commit a crime. A typical sting will have an undercover law enforcement officer, detective, or co-operative member of the public play a role a ...

on four Muslim men involved in the

2009 Bronx terrorism plot On May 20, 2009, US law enforcement arrested four men in connection with a fake plot concocted by a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) informant to shoot down military airplanes flying out of an Air National Guard base in Newburgh, New York, ...

. Beginning in 2008, an FBI informant, Shaheed Hussain, recorded hours of conversations with the men who were ultimately arrested and convicted of planting three non-functional bombs next to two synagogues in Riverdale, Bronx and for planning to use

Stinger missiles The FIM-92 Stinger is an American man-portable air-defense system (MANPADS) that operates as an infrared homing surface-to-air missile (SAM). It can be adapted to fire from a wide variety of ground vehicles, and from helicopters as the Air-to-Ai ...

to shoot down United States military cargo planes near Newburgh, New York. The documentary shows that the four men were coaxed into participating in the plot by an FBI informant and offered incentives including $250,000. The men's lawyers, including Sam Braverman, who is featured prominently in the film, argue that this was a case of

entrapment Entrapment is a practice in which a law enforcement agent or agent of the state induces a person to commit a "crime" that the person would have otherwise been unlikely or unwilling to commit.''Sloane'' (1990) 49 A Crim R 270. See also agent provo ...

. Also featured in the film is Michael German, a former undercover FBI agent and a current fellow in the Brennan Center for Justice's Liberty and National Security program.

Awards

The film was shown at the Tribeca Film Festival. It won a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

and a Founder's Prize special award at the Traverse City Film Festival.

References

External links

HBO Documentary Films
* 2014 films Documentary films about terrorism Islamic terrorism in New York (state) Documentary films about law enforcement in the United States American documentary films 2014 documentary films 2010s English-language films Films directed by David Heilbroner Films directed by Kate Davis 2010s American films {{hist-documentary-film-stub