The latest reports about the alleged New York City bombing plot contain a clue to why so much of this story has seemed weird and disjointed — the FBI and the NYPD were apparently engaged in an inter-bureau squabble: Three Men Arrested by FBI in NYC Terror Plot.

The FBI arrested three men overnight on charges they lied to federal agents during an investigation of a terror plot against New York City that authorities say was “the real deal.”

Authorities arrest three suspects in connection to an alleged terror plot.
Agents in Denver arrested Najibullah Zazi, a 24-year old airport shuttle driver, who authorities say appears to be the ringleader of the alleged plot. Also charged with lying to the FBI was Zazi’s father, Mohammed Zazi.

In New York, the FBI arrested the leader of a Queens mosque, Ahmad Afzali, who authorities allege had been a New York police department informant but “went bad” and tipped off Zazi, his father and others to the investigation.

Afzali’s alleged double cross compromised the case and led the FBI to move in on the suspects much earlier than they had wanted and led to extreme tensions between the Denver office of the FBI and the NYPD. One law enforcement official said the NYPD had been specifically asked not to reveal the investigation to its informants, but went ahead anyway.

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