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PAULD.TONKO January 31, 2022 The Honorable Christopher A. Wray Director Federal Bureau of Investigation 935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20535 Dear Director Wray, I write to you regarding the recent and disturbing allegations concerning possible Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) intervention on behalf of Shahed Hussain, the owner of Prestige Limousine. As you may be aware, on Saturday, October 6, 2018, twenty people were killed in the deadliest transportation disaster our nation has seen in almost a decade. Prestige Limousine had been contracted to transport a group of 17 passengers in an oversized 2001 Ford Excursion when the brake system failed and the driver lost control of the vehicle, struck two pedestrians, and crashed into a ditch.2 Despite repeated citations from the New York State Department of Transportation, severe mechanical defects, and being ordered unserviceable a month before the crash, Prestige Limousine continued renting out this vehicle in direct violation of the law.' Recent press coverage of this tragedy has alleged that the Federal Bureau of Investigation may have shielded Mr. Hussain and his family over the years from various legal consequences as a reward for Mr. Hussain's prior service as a confidential informant. According to New York Magazine reporting, when the National Transportation Safety Board addressed the public after the release of its full report on the crash, "..board members struggled to contain their fury. Much of it was directed at the Department of Transportation, which knew Prestige was a threat - the report counted 32 times the agency had interacted with the company - and failed to act."' These disturbing allegations are of great concern to me as well as families who lost loved ones in this 1 https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/limo-crash-ny-Federal Bureau of Investigation-informant.html 2 https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/fbi-informant-in-terror-stings-owned-limo-in-13290392.php 3 https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/State-DOT-s-kid-gloves-on-limo-company-13378368.php?IPID=Times- Union-limo-crash-investigations-4pack 1