The owner of the limousine company involved in a deadly crash was a controversial FBI informant with a history of inspection failures for his vehicles.
Shahed Hussain avoided deportation after admitting to a felony in a personal bankruptcy case by becoming an undercover informant for the federal agency, his former lawyer confirmed this week. His business, Prestige Limousine in Saratoga County, New York has come under scrutiny as federal investigators probe the wreck that killed 20 people over the weekend.
Mr Hussain’s vehicles have been inspected at least five times over the last two years, according to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration records. His vehicles were ordered out of service four of those times until repairs could be made, though it remained unclear whether the limousine was one of those included in the database.
Reports indicated the 2001 Ford Excursion limousine in question was "ageing" at the time of the crash, with one victim sending a text message just before the incident that said the vehicle was in “terrible condition.”
As for Mr Hussain’s links to the FBI, the business owner emigrated in the early 1990s from Pakistan to the United States before eventually serving as an informant in New York’s Muslim communities, USA Today reported.
Civil rights groups questioned strategies used by Mr Hussain and the FBI in order to conduct an anti-terror sting in the state capitol of Albany, which led to two arrests in 2006.
The 62-year-old appeared to own at least four companies, all of which used the same Wilton address as their headquarters, including Prestige Limousine, Chauffeur Service Saratoga, Luxury Limousine and Hasy Limousine.
Officials have vowed to take action against parties found of wrongdoing in the crash.
Those found criminally liable would be “held accountable,” according to New York State Police Major Robert Patnaude, who did not immediately confirm whether Mr Hussain was a focus of investigations.
The fatal crash rocked the quiet region of upstate New York on Saturday afternoon. The small town hasn’t seen as deadly an incident in years, according to residents who congregated at a local cafeteria nearby the crash site. The eatery had reopened Sunday and was accepting donations to provide the victims’ families.
Victims included newlyweds Amy and Axel Steenburg, who had married in June and were celebrating Amy's 30th birthday when travelling in the limo with their friends.
Four of her sisters were also killed in the wreck, along with her husband’s brother, Rich Steenburg.
Several couples were killed in the crash, including Abigail and Adam Jackson, a teacher and deputy commissioner of the Montgomery County Board of Elections, as well as Erin and Shane McGowan, newlyweds who also married in June in upstate New York.
Scott Lisinicchia, who was reportedly the driver of the limousine, was also killed in the wreck. His wife wrote on Facebook, “It hurts me to a core to have to bury my husband”.
Two pedestrians, Brian Hough and James Schnurr, also died. Mr Hough was an assistant professor at the State University of New York at Oswego, and Mr Schnurr was his father-in-law.
