U.S.

NYT: Faisal Shahzad Had Money Woes

May 6, 2010 / 2:45 PM EDT / CBS/AP

The man suspected of trying to set of a car bomb in Times Square grew more reserved and religious in the past year and had mounting financial woes, the New York Times reported Thursday.

Special Section: Terrorism in the U.S.

The Times profile - based on interviews with friends of the suspect, Pakistani-born American citizen Faisal Shahzad, and his wife Huma Mian - paints a picture of the couple's divided American and Pakistani identity and a man's quiet turn from relative normalcy to radicalism.

"According to Pakistan's information minister, Mr. Shahzad traveled to Pakistan 13 times in the past seven years. One Pakistani official who knew the family said it was unlikely that Mr. Shahzad would have been radicalized in Pakistan if he was only on short trips, which tend to be dominated by family commitments like wedding," the Times reported, but it remains unclear exactly how or where Shahzad became radicalized.

Shahzad let his $273,000 Connecticut home fall into disrepair and it is now being foreclosed on by lender J.P. Morgan Chase. A friend attributed his problems to the recession.

In other developments Thursday, the Associated Press reported that Shahzad scouted the bustling Times Square district in the same vehicle days before carrying out his plot and then, on a second trip, left a getaway car blocks from his chosen target.

Shahzad, now in custody on terrorism and weapons charges, drove a 1993 Nissan Pathfinder to Times Square from Connecticut on April 28, apparently to figure out where would be the best place to leave it later, the official said. He then returned April 30 to drop off a black Isuzu, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the investigation.

A law enforcement official told AP Shahzad went back Saturday and left the SUV loaded with firecrackers, gasoline and propane, enough to likely create a fireball and kill nearby tourists and Broadway theatergoers had it gone off successfully.

Shahzad left his Izuzu SUV on 38th Street as his getaway car, but on Saturday night - after he left the Pathfinder - he became frazzled because he had left the keys in what was then a smoking car. So he took the train home to get his keys and returned Sunday to get the Izuzu, reports CBS News Justice correspondent Bob Orr.

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