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Wife takes plea deal in arms case©Associated PressFebruary 25, 2003 TAMPA -- The wife of a Pinellas County podiatrist charged in a plot to blow up Muslim gathering places has agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors under a plea bargain. Last week, Kristi Lea Goldstein, 28, signed court documents agreeing to plead guilty and cooperate with authorities in the case against her husband, Robert Goldstein, the U.S. Attorney's Office said Monday. Prosecutors say Kristi Goldstein shared her husband's fascination with firearms and explosives and knew of his plan to launch an attack on the Islamic Society of Pinellas County center in retaliation for the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Robert Goldstein was arrested in August after Pinellas sheriff's deputies found an arsenal of weapons and unlicensed explosives in their Seminole townhouse while responding to a domestic-violence call. Authorities also found a "mission template" for the attack on the local Islamic center and a typed list of 50 other Muslim gathering places authorities say he planned to target. Robert Goldstein's attorney, Myles Malman, says his client is mentally ill and never planned to carry out the plot. Kristi Goldstein was arrested in October and charged with illegal possession of destructive devices and making false statements to authorities. Under the plea agreement, the false-statements charges will be dropped, and prosecutors will recommend a sentence less than the 10-year maximum on the remaining charge. Kristi Goldstein's attorney, Brent Armstrong, declined to comment Monday.
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