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Algerian pleads guilty to New Year's 2000 terrorism plot

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NEW YORK (CNN) -- A man accused of conspiring to carry out a terrorist plot in the United States during New Year's 2000 celebrations has pleaded guilty.

Abdel Ghani Meskini 33, an Algerian native, reversed an earlier plea of not guilty, entering the guilty plea Wednesday in the U.S. District Court of Southern New York. As a result of the plea, he could face a maximum 105 years in prison without the possibility of parole.

Meskini was arrested in late December 1999 in New York after authorities claimed he conspired to carry out a New Year's terrorist attack with suspected Algerian explosives smuggler Ahmed Ressam, who was arrested at Port Angeles, Washington, earlier that month with a car loaded with explosive material.

U.S. officials say the plot involved more than a dozen people and prompted congressional hearings into the security of the traditionally open U.S.-Canada border.

Meskini reached an agreement with the government on March 2 and then five days later officially entered his guilty plea to eight counts, including conspiracy to provide material terrorism support and use of fraudulent documents.

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