Podiatrist is considered fit for trial

TAMPA -- A psychiatrist has found that a Seminole podiatrist is competent to help defend himself against charges that he plotted to bomb mosques and Islamic centers.

The finding means the criminal case against Robert J. Goldstein will proceed. The U.S. Attorney's Office will seek an indictment against him in the next few weeks.

The report by psychiatrist Donald R. Taylor of Tampa is sealed, pending a decision by U.S. Magistrate Thomas B. McCoun III. The assessment judged only Goldstein's present state of mind and did not address the issue of insanity.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms charged Goldstein last month with illegally possessing 20 live bombs and plotting to damage or destroy 50 Islamic centers and mosques in the Tampa Bay area and Florida.

Myles Malman, Goldstein's attorney, said Friday that the alleged plot, including a floor plan of an Islamic center, was a manifestation of Goldstein's mental illness.

"It was a fantasy," Malman said. "It was not for real."

Goldstein, 37, remains in the Orient Road Jail in Hillsborough County.

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