New York Congressman Paul Tonko is calling on the FBI to respond to allegations that Prestige Limousine’s owners may have long been shielded from legal consequences due to close ties to the bureau.
Tonko’s letter follows a “New York” magazine story last month that renewed scrutiny of Shahed and his son Nauman Hussain’s ties to the FBI, for which Shahed has been a longtime confidential informant. Their limo company was found to have illegally altered an unsafe vehicle that crashed in October 2018, killing 20 people.
Tonko, a Democrat from Amsterdam, where many of the victims were from, wrote to FBI Director Christopher Wray Monday requesting a briefing by the end of the month.
Tonko says while he is not aware of any FBI involvement protecting Prestige in the years before the crash, “the families and community deserve to hear whether these allegations” are true.
Tonko is asking for documents and communications from the FBI relating to the company, the state Department of Transportation, the New York State Police and the Schoharie County District Attorney.
