Lawyer: Client Was In Wrong Place At Wrong Time

David Banach and his daughter were simply "in the wrong place at the wrong time." So says Banach's lawyer, after the Lake Parsippany, NJ, man was questioned about flashing a laser at low-flying aircraft.

As ANN has reported, at least seven air crews have been "lit up" by lasers from Colorado to New Jersey since Christmas. Whatever ill intent may have been on the minds of some of those wielding lasers, attorney Gina Mendola Longarzo says it wasn't on the mind of her client. Longarzo was quoted in the Morris County, NJ, Daily Record.

"At one moment he was in the backyard playing with his daughter," said Longarzo, "and 10 minutes later 12 police cars descended and he was whisked away by authorities and interrogated until 4 a.m." She said Banach was simply showing his daughter how to use the laser pointer he'd given her for Christmas.

It was one of several leads the FBI and Department of Homeland Security have been following since the rash of laser lightings began more than a week ago.

"It is an ongoing investigation," FBI Special Agent Steve Kodak told the Daily Record. "Nobody is in custody and there have been no arrests."

Neighbors like Jay Patel said they think Banach is an unlikely terror candidate. "I don't think he was doing it purposely," he said, pointing out that Banach often buys his kids gee-whiz toys -- nothing sinister, he said.

But that may not be the case in other instances of aircraft being lit up by lasers. One source told the Associated Press that federal agents are now investigating similar cases in Colorado, Cleveland, Washington, Texas and Oregon.

FMI: www.fbi.gov, www.dhs.gov