More questioned in NYC terror probe

The 24-year-old Zazi 8211; whom authorities have linked to al-Qaida 8211; his father and Afzali have been charged with lying to FBI investigators trying to uncover the terror plot. Zazi met with his attorneys in Colorado on Wednesday. His father,Mohammed Zazi,was expected to be freed on 50,000 bail after Thursday8217;s hearing.

The arrests came after the raids of several apartments in the Queens neighborhood,where Zazi had driven from Denver to visit earlier this month,and were followed by a flurry of nationwide warnings of possible strikes on transit,sports and entertainment complexes.

On Wednesday,hundreds of federal agents and NYPD investigators again fanned out in the neighborhood where apartments were searched- and backpacks and cell phones removed 8211; over a week ago,to re-interview 8220;people previously encountered8221; during previous raids there,and to locate others who know them,according to a law enforcement official familiar with the probe.

The effort also includes a review of phone and other records that could link potential suspects to one another or identify new ones.

8220;Many of the people we8217;ve spoken to have been cooperative,8221; said the official,who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because the investigation is ongoing.

The official said business owners also are on the list of possible witnesses in a potential homemade-bomb plot. The official declined to identify those businesses,but authorities regularly monitor sales by suppliers of chemicals that could be used in improvised explosives.

But questions lingered about whether early missteps hindered the investigation. A criminal complaint suggests police acting without the FBI8217;s knowledge might have inadvertently blown the surveillance and forced investigators8217; hand by questioning Afzali 8211; considered a trusted police source in the community 8211; about Zazi and other possible plotters.

The imam,it says,turned around and tipped off Zazi by calling him the next day and saying in a recorded conversation,8221;They asked me about you guys.8221;

The detectives referred to in the recently unsealed criminal complaint work for a division that operates independently from an FBI-run terrorism task force.

Police officials say that their investigators reached out to Afzali 8211; showing him pictures of four possible suspects to identify,including Zazi 8211; only after receiving fresh information from the terrorism task force that a terrorism plot was possibly in progress.

In a joint statement,Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and Joe Demarest,head of the FBI office in New York,denied reports that the questioning of Afzali and his alleged betrayal had caused a rift between the agencies.

The New York Times,quoting unnamed current and former police officials,reported in Thursday editions that the New York Police Department transferred two commanders this week,including one from its counter terrorism bureau. NYPD top spokesman Paul Browne would not confirm the transfers or comment late Wednesday.