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FBI & Probers Targeted / Say terror sheik's Staten I. aide found (Agents) homes
New York Daily News ^ | 4/23/02 | GREG B. SMITH

Posted on 04/23/2002 2:07:10 AM PDT by kattracks

A Staten Island mailman who was a follower of the blind terror sheik tracked down confidential addresses of FBI agents and prosecutors pursuing Al Qaeda, according to court records and federal sources.

Ahmed Sattar, described by federal prosecutors as a point man for a major terror group in America, was spotted by one federal agent near his home. The agent moved his family from the area.

Sattar also was put on the federal payroll, receiving thousands of dollars to be a paralegal for Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman during his 1995 terror trial, government officials said.

Even though federal investigators became suspicious of Sattar as early as 1993, he had the authority as a mailman to deliver and pick up express mail from Kennedy Airport, giving him access to restricted areas barred to the public.

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Sattar was reassigned to a post office in a remote section of Staten Island with no access to the airport.

The FBI arrested Sattar two weeks ago along with the sheik's lawyer Lynne Stewart and two others on charges of providing support to a terrorist group.

The charges contrast sharply with Sattar's image as a mild-mannered 15-year veteran of the Postal Service quietly raising four children with an American wife on Staten Island.

But a review of documents and interviews with federal officials reveal that for years, Sattar has been under suspicion for his activities on behalf of al-Gama'at al-Islamiyya, a particularly vicious terror group that slaughtered 58 tourists in 1997 at Luxor, Egypt.

Sattar's affiliation with terrorism surfaced in 1993, as the FBI zeroed in on the sheik's involvement in an al-Gama'at conspiracy to blow up New York landmarks such as the Holland Tunnel and the United Nations.

The English-speaking Sattar became the spokesman for the blind cleric.

The FBI knew in early 1993, shortly after the World Trade Center bombing, that an FBI informant named Emad Salem told the bureau that Sattar said he obtained the unpublished home address of a lead agent in the sheik's investigation.

Salem told the agent, John Anticev, who then recalled seeing Sattar in a postal uniform near his home. Fearing for his children's safety, Anticev moved, court records state.

Sattar also was investigated for obtaining the home address of other agents and prosecutors looking into the origins of Al Qaeda, a federal source told the Daily News.

Nevertheless, he was allowed to continue delivering mail to a facility inside a restricted section at Kennedy Airport.

Postal Inspector spokeswoman Pat Bossert confirmed that Sattar had access to Kennedy in picking up express mail, but insisted he did not have "special access" to other restricted areas.

She declined to discuss the FBI's investigation of Sattar's efforts to obtain addresses of agents and prosecutors.

'Cleaned Up Everything'

Investigators also discovered that Sattar was involved deeply with Trade Center bomber Mohammed Salameh. The informant Salem said Satter became agitated when he learned Salameh had been arrested.

"As soon as he had heard about Salameh's arrest, he had run home right away and 'cleaned up everything,'" Salem told the FBI. Later, Sattar asked Salem "if there was a way to clean chemicals off the body so that no residue was left behind," according to court documents.

Sattar's wife, Lisa, doesn't believe the charges. She describes him as a quiet man, a devoted father who works two jobs to pay for their small rented apartment.

"Supposedly all this stuff went on from the home. It's highly unlikely," she said. "Our apartment is very small. I can hear him talking on the phone."


TOPICS: Breaking News; News/Current Events; US: New York
KEYWORDS: 911; airseclist; algamaat; aljamaat; anticev; blindsheikh; coralgables; denko; denkointernational; denkomechanical; emadsalem; hammad; hansen; islamicgroup; jfk; jfkairport; jihadinamerica; johnanticev; jordan; landmarkplot; lynnestewart; mohammedsalameh; newyork; nytunnelplot; nyunplot; omarabdelrahman; petehansen; peterhansen; plumbing; rahman; sakherahammad; sakherhammad; salameh; salem; sattar; secretdove; sergeidenko; sheikhomar; sprinkler; sprinklers; sprinklersystem; stewart; terrorism; terrorwar; un; wtc; wtcsprinklers
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1 posted on 04/23/2002 2:07:10 AM PDT by kattracks
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To: kattracks
bump
2 posted on 04/23/2002 2:57:22 AM PDT by RaceBannon
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To: RaceBannon
BTTT
3 posted on 04/23/2002 3:11:30 AM PDT by lentulusgracchus
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To: kattracks
How many have been here, for how many years?
4 posted on 04/23/2002 3:53:36 AM PDT by Betty Jo
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Comment #5 Removed by Moderator

Comment #6 Removed by Moderator

To: kattracks
Sorry, FBI, you get NO sympathy from me. You've known about this guy since '93. You can move your families when he comes around. The rest of us didn't get that warning.

As cruel as it may sound, the bottom line is this:

If you insist on letting these guys walk the streets and plan their operations unimpeded, then it is only justice that your families come into harm's way first.

7 posted on 04/23/2002 5:26:35 AM PDT by Lion's Cub
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To: *TerrOrWar; aristeides; Wallaby; thinden; honway; OKCSubmariner
FYI. They've known about this guy since early '93...
8 posted on 04/23/2002 5:43:26 AM PDT by Lion's Cub
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To: kattracks
bttt
9 posted on 04/23/2002 6:21:08 AM PDT by PA Engineer
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To: kattracks
justice IS served.....the incomptent morons who give no thought to natl security, lose countless laptop computers with sensitive secrets, and that is what has made the papers, only. I am sure there must be more. Well, guess what, boys. YOU, like the media, are PART of the society you place at risk with your ineptitude and bungling. And maybe, just maybe, that will open your eyes to running your organization with the same amount of precision that is the minimum accepted from the average fast food chain franchise. High school is over, honeys. Maybe now you will understand the seriousness of your criminal incompetence, without which, and no one in the media wants to point this out, NONE of the 9/11 attacks could have happened. (Terrorists infiltrate country....nope, not my job...pass me a beer and that hustler magazine....have you seen my laptop...I think I left it at hooters).....

I chuckle like hell when I think of these guys getting up infront of the camera in years gone by, with fist pounding hubris telling everyone that "we WILL catch those responsible, JUSTICE will be served", and then they dig up some poor shlub (richard jewell) who is innocent.
thats what we call IRONY, say it with me, "Iron-y."

10 posted on 04/23/2002 6:46:46 AM PDT by galt-jw
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To: Lion's Cub; *TerrOrWar; aristeides; Wallaby; thinden; honway; OKCSubmariner; kattracks
FYI. They've known about this guy since early '93...

Coincidentally, also since early 1993, a foul traitor -- an evil, America-hating, predatory, psychopathological, lying, thieving, mass-murdering, co-serial rapist, gangster bastard son of a Hot-Springs whore-house John -- and/or Tom -- and/or Dick -- and/or Harry -- and [Remember, "two for the price of one?"] his truly fearsome and loathesome treasonous, evil, America-hating, predatory, psychopathological, lying, thieving, mass-murdering, co-serial rapist, gangsters' moll "spouse" -- headed up America's administrative branch of government.

Why .....

What a surprise!

11 posted on 04/23/2002 7:06:42 AM PDT by Brian Allen
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To: Brian Allen; Lion's Cub; Fred Mertz; rdavis84
The FBI knew in early 1993, shortly after the World Trade Center bombing, that an FBI informant named Emad Salem told the bureau that Sattar said he obtained the unpublished home address of a lead agent in the sheik's investigation.,

Salem told the agent, John Anticev, who then recalled seeing Sattar in a postal uniform near his home. Fearing for his children's safety, Anticev moved, court records state.

a postal worker being sanctioned for sniffing out a few addresses and creating fear in a gummit agent makes FBI FILEGATE even more outrageous!

12 posted on 04/23/2002 7:30:10 AM PDT by thinden
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To: thinden
"a postal worker being sanctioned for sniffing out a few addresses and creating fear in a gummit agent makes FBI FILEGATE even more outrageous!"

They've got a "Secret Website" for the Brotherhood of FBI maggots. Assigned password and all. If I can locate it I'll put a link on. I'm hoping a hacker can entertain himself there.

13 posted on 04/23/2002 8:24:10 AM PDT by rdavis84
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To: kattracks
As a smart Freeper said yesterday (it's not yet picked up by the media) Moussari wants a "judge only" trial for one reason and one reason only. And it is not good.

Since judge's names -- unlike jurors' -- will be public knowledge terror threats could be made against the judge's family.

These moslem terrorists are the worst threat -- ever -- faced by our country.

14 posted on 04/23/2002 8:28:04 AM PDT by aculeus
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To: thinden; mancini; shermy; atticusx; bluedogdemo; dawnal; zog
Excellent point!
15 posted on 04/23/2002 8:33:07 AM PDT by Fred Mertz
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To: kattracks
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/655625/posts?page=61

Link to another Staten Island connection

One of five suspects in a drivers license fraud ring was released Thursday after his father agreed to put up property, including his Staten Island home, as bond.

Federal prosecutor Tim DiScenza dropped opposition to Sakher A. Hammad's release after his father, Peter Hansen, a civil engineer employed by New York City government, signed the $250,000 bond.

But DiScenza fought a bid for bail by co-defendant Khaled Odtllah. U.S. Dist. Judge Bernice Donald is scheduled to rule Monday on that matter.

DiScenza also told Donald that the government wants separate trials in rapid succession for the five defendants, with Odtllah, the alleged ringleader, being the last tried.

Donald set a tentative trial date of May 20 for the first of the defendants.

Hammad, like his four co-defendants, had been in federal custody since they were arrested Feb. 5 with Tennessee license examiner Katherine Smith.

A criminal complaint the next day charged all six with being part of a scam in which Smith would issue driver's licenses for a fee to New Yorkers brought to Shelby County by Odtllah.

Smith, out of jail on her own recognizance, died in a fiery car crash the night before she was scheduled to appear at a detention hearing. (She was burned alive with gasoline, nice folks practicing this religion of Peace).

The defendants were denied bail at the Feb. 11 hearing after the government cited the "mysterious" nature of Smith's death as well as what they said were connections to the World Trade Center just before the Sept. 11 terrorist attack.

Hammad had a visitor's pass for one of the towers dated Sept. 5. He has allegedly told investigators that his Brooklyn plumbing company worked on the building's sprinkler system.

One of the men, authorities say, drove from New York to Memphis on September 11 -- the day of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. And one of them, at the time of his arrest, was carrying in his wallet a pass to the trade center dated September 5.

Footnote: FEMA Report explaining why the Towers collapsed included as a primary reason: the sprinkler systems had been disabled.

16 posted on 04/23/2002 8:47:13 AM PDT by honway
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To: kattracks
I believe Sakher A. Hammad's (also Sakhera Hammad) father lives 7 miles from Sattar. I wonder if Hammad and Sattar use to speak at the local Mosque.
17 posted on 04/23/2002 9:06:11 AM PDT by honway
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To: kattracks
This is unbelievable!

On second thought,... no, it isn't. The FBI is full of incompetents and the Islamic terrorists are merrily hidden all over this country going about their business.

The only surprise is more Americans aren't dead, but I suppose that will come in time! After all, we refuse to profile or do anything sensible about these fanatics and handle them with kid gloves. We will reap our rewards for our PC ways. In many ways, we already have and presently are.

18 posted on 04/23/2002 9:12:26 AM PDT by Gritty
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To: Fred Mertz; rdavis84; thinden; honway; aristeides; aculeus
Since judge's names -- unlike jurors' -- will be public knowledge terror threats could be made against the judge's family.

I still wish we knew who had the security "concession" where this scumbag will be tried. Remember that the Clintons/Janet Reno made sure that AKAL got contracts for security for several courts.

It's possible that was ONLY monetary payback for services already rendered IMO. It's also possible IMO that the Clintons had future plans that might require certain services rendered such as access to certain people and/or records (jurors' names?). Chances are IMO that IF it is AKAL, there will be a subsidiary with a different name IF certain specific type services are required...

Of course, it's also possible that the lucrative contracts were awarded because one of the AKAL guys gave SLick a cough drop when he really needed one. I just think we should know who's handling security.

19 posted on 04/23/2002 9:13:49 AM PDT by Sal
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To: seamole
Exactly what I thought, too. We are getting very good at deciohering mealy-mouthed weaselly statements. Dare i say after the plethora of incidents/statements.."We won't get fooled again.."
20 posted on 04/23/2002 9:23:12 AM PDT by swarthyguy
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