In Perth, Roche attempted to interest a Muslim friend in going to Afghanistan for weapons training, but when the man declined, Roche abandoned his recruiting effort. In early July, Roche says, he called the U.S. Embassy to offer information. Unable to interest the Americans, he called the Australian intelligence agency, known as ASIO, on July 14. Roche says he discussed meeting in person with an agent who used the name "Don" or "John."
Soon after, the Ayub twins began complaining about Hambali's interference in Australia, and Roche flew to Indonesia to sort things out with Bashir. Before leaving, he called his intelligence contact on July 19 to postpone their meeting.
Although Bashir has repeatedly denied that Jemaah Islamiah exists, Roche said there is no doubt that Bashir is the network's leader.
Roche returned to Australia on Aug. 8 and called ASIO two days later. But the agent was no longer interested in meeting, and no one else from the agency contacted him.
Bashir, however, did call. This time he told Roche to stop his activities. Roche says he disengaged from the Ayubs and Jemaah Islamiah -- although he didn't abandon the plot completely: He later bought two model rocket igniters that could be used as detonators, the prosecution said.
Bashir has been in custody in Indonesia since shortly after the Bali bombing and remains under investigation.
At one point, Roche confided in a close friend and fellow Muslim convert, Ibrahim Fraser, a former explosives expert in the mining industry. Fraser testified at the trial that Roche asked him where he could get TNT.
Fraser also tried to bring the embassy bombing plot to the attention of authorities. In September 2000, while in Southeast Asia, he said he called the Australian Federal Police in Singapore to report the terrorist plan. He left a message offering information but never heard back.
A police spokeswoman acknowledged last week that the office had received a message from a man named Ibrahim. She said an agent tried to call him back that day but gave up after not reaching him.
The Bali bombing on Oct. 12, 2002, awakened Australian authorities to the danger posed by Islamic extremists. On Oct. 30, tipped off by members of the Islamic community, police raided Roche's home. They had learned his name from others in the Muslim community and did not know he had once offered information.
Roche spoke freely with police for nine hours. Videotapes show that the investigators didn't know the names of many of the key players in the terrorist networks and needed Roche's help to spell them.
Roche was jailed for 18 months before going on trial May 17 on charges of conspiring with Mohammed, Atef and Adel to blow up the Israeli Embassy. His own statements to police were the main evidence against him. Two weeks into the trial, he changed his plea to guilty and was sentenced to nine years.
Prosecutors asked for a sentence close to the 25-year maximum. But Quail, his lawyer, pleaded for leniency. He said Roche believed that information he gave police in 2002 led to the arrest of Mohammed in Pakistan and of Hambali in Thailand. Roche will be eligible for parole in 2007.
In letters to journalist Colleen Egan written before the trial, Roche said that he was a "small fish" but feared he would be severely punished because of the Bali bombing. He accused prosecutors of engaging in "amateur theatrics" by having him handcuffed and shackled when bringing him to court.
"They flatter themselves with the minnow they have," he wrote.
