Mosque informant says FBI didn’t pay him

A man claiming to have worked as an FBI informant is seeking damages of $10 million for not being paid as he should have been, not to mention having had to spend eight months in prison for a charge he allegedly accrued while on the job.

If the FBI does not fork over the $10 million, Craig Monteilh – a 46 year old fitness consultant from Irvine, California – can file suit against the federal agency. The FBI, Monteilh’s claims, did not pay the $100,000 he was promised for spying on Southern California mosques, nor did the agency provide him with witness protection once his undercover sleuthing was complete.

Monteilh also says that the FBI reneged on their responsibility to keep him out of the slammer – seeing as his grand theft charge was related to his undercover work for an FBI case on the illegal distribution of steroids and human growth hormones.

The FBI has made no comment, as is in line with their policy towards claims, but the agency did recently announce the use of a spy in local mosques to watch Ahmadullah Niazi – Osama bin Laden’s bodyguard’s brother-in-law. Niazi, who was arrested this year for lying about his connection to terrorists on his passport and citizenship papers, has pleaded not guilty.

The agency also said that Niazi named the mosque spy as someone who spoke about terrorism. Apparently it was this comment that drove Monteilh to come forth with his accusations against the FBI. Although the FBI has not made mention of Monteilh by name – referring only to their ‘informant’ – Niazi did in 2007 report Monteilh to the police, helping the mosque to get a court order against him.

Among Monteilh’s other complaints is the fact that he’s been receiving threatening phone calls since the court order.

So will the FBI cough up the money or let Monteilh take them to court? Wait and see…

pics courtesy of ocregister.com