Man Claims He Pointed FBI To Bin Laden Compound, Wants $25M Reward
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Michigan man who claims he gave the FBI information on Osama bin Laden's whereabouts has retained the services of a Chicago Law firm to help him get the $25 million reward offered by the federal government.
WBBM Newsradio's Steve Miller reports, in the past, the U.S. government has said no one is getting the $25 million reward for information leading directly to the capture or conviction of bin Laden, because the raid that killed him was the result of electronic intelligence.
However, 63-year-old Tom Lee, of Grand Rapids, said he told the FBI in 2003 that bin Laden's compound was in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
Man Claims He Told FBI Where Bin Laden Was Hiding
Now he wants the reward promised by the federal government, and he has hired the Chicago law firm Loevy & Loevy to help him get it.
"I told them where the worst terrorist of the century was. What's that worth?" he said. "I ask for whatever's reasonable."
Lee, a gem merchant, claimed he is well acquainted with a Pakistani intelligence agent who escorted bin Laden to Abbottabad.
Lee claimed the agent called him on the phone in 2003, and asked him if he wanted to know where bin Laden was living.
"So I said sure," Lee said.
After that call, he went to the FBI, Lee claimed.
Attorney Michael Kanovitz wrote FBI Director James Comey that Lee "has a long history of working with U.S. government investigators, and providing high-quality information about international criminals."
Navy SEAL Team 6 killed bin Laden in a raid on his compound in Abbottabad in May 2011. Lee said that's the compound he told the FBI about, so he deserves at least part of the promised reward.
"I just want to see justice served here," he said.
