NEW : A Somali man is sentenced to 1861 in prison in high-seas piracy attempt . Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse is one of a group of would-be pirates who were captured . In May , Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse , who was accused of leading the attack on the Maersk Alabama in April 2009 , pleaded guilty to felony counts of hijacking maritime vessels , kidnapping and hostage taking . He has admitted to trying to seize a the United States merchant vessel and hold it for ransom . Until this year , the last piracy-related conviction in U.S. was in 1861 .
NEW : A Somali man is sentenced to 1861 in prison in high-seas piracy attempt . Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse is one of a group of would-be pirates who were captured . He has admitted to trying to seize a the United States merchant vessel and hold it for ransom . Until this year , the last piracy-related conviction in U.S. was in 1861 .