The Associated Press
NEW YORK- A former police officer with mental problems linked to the World Trade Center disaster was sentenced to prison Wednesday after declaring he had been trying to kill only himself when he placed a bomb in a Times Square subway station.
Joseph Rodriguez, who had pleaded guilty Oct. 24 to reckless endangerment, was given one to three years in prison.
Rodriguez, 28, admitted he placed a homemade bomb on subway stairs at 43rd Street and Eighth Avenue on July 19, 2004. The blast left him slightly injured; it also scared commuters, slowed train service and prompted a massive response by police on high alert for terrorism.
Before state Supreme Court Justice Micki Scherer imposed the sentence, the defense lawyer read a statement saying Rodriguez knew his actions were wrong and never intended to hurt anyone but himself.
Rodriguez’s lawyer, Edgar De Leon, said his client’s actions were due to post-traumatic stress syndrome caused by the Sept. 11, 2001, World Trade Center attack.