A man accused of plotting to bomb New York synagogues and shoot down military planes ranted against Jews and mused about “taking down” targets in the United States, according to audio tapes played Monday at his federal trial.

The tapes were secretly recorded by a paid informant testifying against James Cromitie and three other men who were arrested in 2009 on their way to the synagogues.

The informant, Shahed Hussain, met Cromitie in 2008 after being sent by the FBI to infiltrate a Newburgh, N.Y., mosque. While wearing a wire, he later taped conversations they had during meals at restaurants and in meetings at his home.

“Muslims want to take the U.S. down,” Cromitie says on one tape played for the jury. “Believe me, we can do it with our regular Muslims here.”

Cromitie also bemoans American military ventures in the Middle East.

“What do we do to make it stop?” he says. “We start taking things down here, you understand?”

He adds: “I will kill 10 million (Jews) before I kill one Muslim.”