Then, the U.S. Attorney requested to terminate his supervised release a few years early. Here are the dates from the court docket, available on Pacer (his case is in the Eastern District of New York>).
- 02/07/1997
COMPLAINT as to Daood Saleem Gilani, James Leslie Lewis, filed.
- 02/11/1997
Permanent order of detention entered as to Gilani.
- 03/07/1997
INDICTMENT as to Daood Saleem Gilani count(s) 1, 2, 3, James Leslie Lewis count(s) 1, 2, 3.
- 05/06/1997
Daood Saleem Gilani pleads Guilty: count 1 . Setting Sentencing for 7/18/97 before Judge Carol B. Amon .
- 08/20/1997
SEALED DOCUMENT containing PRB BOND AND ATTACHEMENTS.
- 09/02/1997
SEALED ENVELOPE containing PRB BOND
- 09/11/1997
SEALED ENVELOPE containing LETTER
- 10/30/1997
Daood Saleem Gilani Bail Hearing. AUSA Michele Delong, deft present with counsel. Bail continued for another 90 days.
- 12/04/1997
PRB BOND entered by Daood Saleem Gilani in Amount $ 300,000. (Second bond, extension).
- 02/27/1998
Daood Saleem Gilani; Bail hearing. Sentencing adjourned until 9/25/98 @ 9:30am.
- 03/04/1998
SEALED LETTER dated 1/30/98 to be placed in vault per order of Judge Amon.
- 03/12/1998
SEALED LETTER to be placed in vault as per order of Judge Amon.
- 05/28/1998
Application granted to travel to Maryland
- 09/14/1998
Application granted to travel to Philadelphia
- 09/25/1998
Sentencing: Count 1, 15 months imprisonment, 5 years supervised release. Ordered to surrender on 10/9/98.
- 10/02/1998
sealed letter placed in vault
- 10/07/1998
Surrender date continued to 11/6/98
- 12/15/1998
Judgment Returned Executed as to Daood Saleem Gilani; on 11/6/98, Defendant delivered to FCI Fort Dix
07/20/1999
ORDER as to Daood Saleem Gilani, endorsed on letter dated 7/14/99 from Howard Leader to Judge Amon, requesting permission to travel to Pakistan from 8.10.99 through 9.15.99. Application granted. ) (my emphasis)
- 11/16/2001
Daood Saleem Gilani. Joint application for termination of Supervised Release granted.
- 12/27/2001
ORDER as to Daood Saleem Gilani. It is ordered that the releasee be discharged from supervised release and that the proceedings in the case be terminated. Signed by Judge Carol B. Amon, on 12/18/01.
So, Headley/Gilani began serving a 15 month sentence on 11/6/98 (on the same charge for which his co-defendant got 100 months) and 9 months later, on 8/10/99, he was out and on his way to Pakistan.
And, while he was sentenced to 5 years supervised release, the U.S. Attorney's office moved to discharge him three years early, in December, 2001, to enable him to return to Pakistan.
I might also mention this wasn't his first heroin conviction. In 1988, he got popped in Frankfurt at the airport with 2 kilos of heroin. He worked his way to a light sentence in that case as well.
In 2006, Gilani, who was born in the U.S. and spent his childhood in Pakistan, changed his last name to that of his mother, becoming David Coleman Headley. He traveled all over, including trips to Denmark, India and Pakistan. According to the Government's October, 2009 Complaint, he traveled from the U.S. to Pakistan in August, 2008, flying back on December 7, 2008. The Mumbai attacks were on Nov. 26, 2008. According to news reports yesterday, on Nov. 25, 2008, the money transferers in Italy, at the request of people in Pakistan, wired money to Calphonex, a California phone company, to set up five VOIP accounts used by the Mumbai bombers.
The October Complaint (press release here, complaint available on PACER) alleges Headley and his codefendant Rana conspired with a member of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and with Ilyas Kashmiri, leader of the terrorist group Harkat-ul Jihad Islamid.
According to the Complaint, Headley told the FBI after his arrest he had worked with Lashkar-e-Tayyiba in the past and received training from the group. He also said he worked with Kashmiri to plan the Danish attack. Lashkar-e-Tayyiba has claimed credit for many attacks in India and the Complaint alleges Headley's contact there was a high-up member.
If the FBI wants to know how Gilani/Headley got connected with terrorists in Pakistan, now that expanded record-sharing is allowed between law enforcement agencies, perhaps they should ask the DEA just what they had him doing over there in 1999, and for how long?
As the press release states, a criminal complaint contains mere allegations that are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
