NEW YORK — Two men were convicted today of plotting to blow up jet fuel tanks at John F. Kennedy International Airport, a terror plot authorities said was meant to outdo the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and avenge perceived U.S. oppression of Muslims around the world.

A jury in Brooklyn federal court deliberated about five days before finding Russell Defreitas and Abdul Kadir guilty of multiple conspiracy charges. Kadir was acquitted of one charge, surveillance of mass transportation.

Defreitas, a former JFK cargo handler, and Kadir, once a member of Guyana's parliament, were arrested in 2007 after an informant infiltrated the plot.

Prosecutors alleged Defreitas, a 66-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen from Guyana, and Kadir, 58, wanted to kill thousands of people and cripple the American economy by using explosives to blow up the fuel tanks and the underground pipelines that run through an adjacent Queens neighborhood. Authorities say the men sought the help of militant Muslims, including an al-Qaida operative, in Guyana.

The defendants wanted to set off an explosion "so massive ... that it could be seen from far, far away," Assistant U.S. Attorney Zainab Ahmad said in closing arguments.

Their vision prompted them to code name the plot "The Shining Light," the prosecutor said.

Defense lawyers described their clients as clueless trash-talkers who were led astray by the informant, a convicted drug dealer.

By The Associated Press