New York ( CNN ) -- The man accused of attempting to set off a car bomb in Times Square considered other targets in and around New York before the failed attack , an investigator said . Faisal Shahzad , 30 , pondered attacks on Rockefeller Center , Grand Central Terminal , the World Financial Center and Connecticut helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky , going so far as to case some of the targets , a senior counterterrorism official with oversight of the investigation said Tuesday . Dressed in a gray sweatsuit , free of handcuffs , Shahzad appeared before a federal magistrate on Tuesday afternoon to hear the charges against him . As he walked into courtroom , Shahzad gave a slight smile to his public defender , Julia Gatto . At the end of the hearing , Gatto requested that Shahzad be served halal food -- prepared according to Islamic dietary laws -- while jailed . Gatto did not object to the government 's request that he remain in federal custody . He did not enter a plea , and Magistrate Judge James Francis set his next hearing for June 1 . Shahzad faces five counts in connection with the attempted bombing in Times Square on May 1 . He could face life in prison if convicted . The Pakistani-born naturalized U.S. citizen has been in federal custody since his arrest two days after the bomb attempt . During that time , he `` has provided valuable intelligence from which further investigative action has been taken , '' the U.S. attorney 's office said . After 15 days of questioning , Shahzad invoked his right to an attorney at Tuesday 's hearing , a federal law enforcement official said . According to court documents , Shahzad has admitted to law enforcement that he attempted to detonate the bomb and that he recently received bomb-making training in the Waziristan region of Pakistan . Attorney General Eric Holder has said Shahzad was working with the Pakistani Taliban . E-mails obtained by CNN indicate he was looking for a way to strike back against `` foreign infidel forces '' he believed were oppressing the Muslim world . In one , sent to a large group of recipients in February 2006 , Shahzad wrote , `` Everyone knows how the Muslim country bows down to pressure from the west . Everyone knows the kind of humiliation we are faced with around the globe . '' At the time , he had been in the United States for about six years , had earned his MBA and was working as a financial analyst in Connecticut . CIA Director Leon Panetta and National Security Adviser James Jones are traveling to Pakistan to meet with officials there about the status of the Times Square investigation , a U.S. official said Tuesday . They also plan to discuss efforts to prevent future terrorist attacks in their meetings there , the official added . The U.S. government wants to see continued Pakistani cooperation in determining what role the Pakistani Taliban may have played in assisting Shahzad . Washington also wants an aggressive push by Pakistani authorities to take action against al Qaeda-linked groups in the largely ungoverned tribal areas along its border with Afghanistan . CNN National Correspondent Susan Candiotti and National Security Analyst Frances Townsend contributed to this report .
NEW : Times Square bomb plot suspect Faisal Shahzad does not enter plea in hearing . The judge said he would rule on the case at a later date. His lawyer asks that he be served food prepared according to Islamic dietary laws in jail . Shahzad considered attacks on Rockefeller Center , Grand Central , investigator says . U.S. seeking Pakistan 's help in determining whether Pakistani Taliban assisted Shahzad .