From Bed, Subway Firebomb Suspect Pleads Not Guilty
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NEW YORK — The man accused of injuring 48 subway riders with a homemade firebomb pleaded not guilty Tuesday during an arraignment at his hospital bedside, defense lawyer Stephen Murphy said.
Edward Leary, charged with attempted murder, assault and attempted grand larceny, is recovering from third-degree burns over 40% of his body that were caused by the Dec. 21 fire.
Authorities claim that the 49-year-old unemployed computer expert planned a series of fire-bombings in an extortion scheme against the city’s transit system. They say the bomb accidentally went off in his lap.
The unusual court session before State Supreme Court Judge Rena Uviller was held in the seventh-floor burn unit of New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, where Leary is in stable condition.
Only the lawyer, judge, prosecutor and a court stenographer were present for the arraignment.
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