U.S. 'shoe bomber' asks judge to drop fine, pleads poverty
BOSTON (Reuters) - Richard Reid, the man who admitted to trying to blow up a jumbo jet in late 2001 with explosives in his shoes, has asked a federal judge to waive the $250,000 fine he faces, saying that he will never be able to pay it while serving life in prison.
In a court filing earlier this week Reid, who is imprisoned in the United States "Supermax" prison in Florence, Colorado, made the request to U.S. District Judge William Young in Massachusetts.
"I am not now, nor will I, I believe, ever be able to pay this fine," Reid, 43, wrote in a hand-written letter asking that a bankruptcy petition be entered in his name.
Young gave federal prosecutors two weeks to respond to Reid's request.
(Reporting by Scott Malone; Editing by Alden Bentley)
