A New York Pizza Shop Owner Was Arrested for Recruiting for ISIS

After the recent horrific events in San Bernardino, California, paranoia about the terrorist next door is pretty damn high right now. Which is why the latest news about a pizza-shop owner is sure to set plenty of people on edge—and will undoubtedly push the Donald Trump camp even further out on their ledge of xenophobia and racism.

Mufid Elfgeeh, a 31-year-old Rochester, New York resident who owns a pizza place there, just pleaded guilty to charges of providing "material support or resources" to a foreign terrorist organization. In other words, the man tried to recruit people to join ISIS.

A naturalized citizen from Yemen, Elfgeeh admitted that he worked with two local recruits—both of whom were actually FBI informants—to help send them to Syria to join the terrorist organization. He also admitted to sending money to a Yemeni recruit, not connected with the FBI.

Elfgeeh apparently came to the attention of the FBI several years ago. They then arranged for two informants to meet with Elfgeeh and talk to him about traveling to Syria and buying handguns. The accused pizza man was evidently only too happy to help.

Who knows how Elfgeeh had any time to make pizza? He was pretty busy after he hooked up with the FBI informants. First, he helped one get a birth certificate and passport in advance of a trip to Syria. Then he planned their travel. According to officials, Elfgeeh promised one recruit that he would likely be part of a "core group of specially trained military personnel." He told the other that he would probably "operate a cannon, act as a sniper and/or build bombs." Elfgeeh communicated with an ISIS commander in Syria and he worked as a liaison between ISIS leadership and the recruits.

This friendly neighborhood pizza man was arrested in May in a Walmart parking lot, just as he was meeting with an informant to pick up guns. According to New York Magazine, the case against Elfgeeh was made much easier thanks to his use of social media.

In his plea, Elfgeeh indicated that he believed that "a person who helps or sponsors a fighter to engage in violent jihad obtains the same religious rewards from Allah as the fighter himself." He will be sentenced on March 17 and could face up to 30 years in prison.

Turns out that Elfgeeh is not the only alleged terrorist in his family—or the only one in the food business. His uncle ran an ice-cream parlor in Park Slope, Brooklyn and was arrested more than a decade ago for his connections to terrorism.