US: Man impersonated agent, claimed ties to Pakistani intel

By MICHAEL BALSAMO
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors say one of two men accused of impersonating federal agents and giving actual Secret Service agents gifts and free apartments in Washington has claimed to have ties to Pakistani intelligence and had visas showing travel to Pakistan and Iran. The men, Arian Taherzadeh, 40, and Haider Ali, 35, were arrested Wednesday. The FBI raided a luxury apartment building in Southeast Washington, where the men were staying and had been offering free apartments and other gifts to U.S. Secret Service agents and officers. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Rothstein says Ali had told witnesses that he was affiliated with the Inter-Services Intelligence agency in Pakistan.