Recovery crews remove debris Sunday from the scene where a limousine crash killed 20 people in Schoharie. [ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO] ▲

A former FBI informant whose testimony led to the convictions of four Newburgh men in a terrorism plot is the owner of the limousine that crashed in Schoharie, killing 20 people, the Albany Times-Union reported on Monday.

The Times-Union, citing confirmation from an unnamed state official, said Shahed Hussain owns Prestige Limousine in Wilton.

The limo, occupied by a group of 17 relatives and friends celebrating a birthday and the driver, reportedly ran through an intersection at the base of a steep hill, struck a parked SUV and two pedestrians and crashed.

Matching an address listed for a bankruptcy Hussain filed in 2003 with the street address that used to house Prestige, the New York Times and the New York Post each identified the match between the FBI informant and the owner of the limo company.

The 2010 trial of the Newburgh Four included testimony and legal arguments related to Hussain's bankruptcy filing and his operation of a small motel north of Albany.

In 2008, Hussain was working as an informant for the FBI when he made the acquaintance of four Newburgh men: James Cromitie, David Williams, Laguerre Payen and Onta Williams.

Federal prosecutors said the four were eager to commit terrorism in the form of a plot to bomb two Brooklyn synagogues and shoot down planes at the Stewart Air National Guard base in Newburgh.

Defense lawyers argued that Hussain provided the plan and cajoled and lured the men into the plot with the promise of a $250,000 payout.

A jury found the four men guilty, and each was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Hussain, who was convicted in 2003 of fraud related to his work as a DMV translator, was paid about $96,000 for three years of undercover work for the Newburgh case and for an Albany terrorism case, defense lawyers for the Newburgh Four argued during their case.

Federal appeals courts upheld the Newburgh Four convictions.

hyakin@th-record.com