Posted on 07/12/2002 10:03:45 PM PDT by Shermy
MILWAUKEE (AP) Federal authorities have found seven people in Wisconsin suspected of bribing U.S. embassy officials in the Persian Gulf to obtain illegal visas. Six of the seven don't appear to have terrorist ties, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis D. Schmitz.
He said little is known about the seventh person, Ahmad Abed Atia, 23, who had been living in Milwaukee. Atia was uncooperative with investigators and has been transferred to Chicago on a federal visa fraud charge, Schmitz said.
The seven are part of a larger group of foreigners from Jordan, Pakistan, Syria and Bangladesh suspected to have paid at least $10,000 each to an employee at the U.S. Embassy in Qatar between April 2000 and July 2001. Authorities said in exchange they received six-month visas without security screening or U.S. government authorization.
Three of the group are believed to have lived with the Sept. 11 hijackers.
Two of the seven people found in Wisconsin have family ties to the state.
Sammah Essa Batayneh, 23, had been living in Racine and working at her husband's grocery store. She was released on her own recognizance pending further court hearings in Chicago.
Yasser Abdelghani, 33, was working at a gas station in Kenosha. He was released from federal custody and turned over to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.
He could be deported.
His wife and children, ages 4 and 6, also had illegal visas but were not taken into custody, Schmitz said.
The INS picked up another of the seven, a 31-year-old man, in Milwaukee. His name was not released.
He has not been charged, but his case remains under investigation, Schmitz said.
"Those released by the court were found not to be dangerous to society," Schmitz said.
Immigration fraud isn't uncommon, but authorities gave the Qatar bribes special attention after one of the group admitted he had lived in Virginia with two men, Hani Hanjour and Nawaf Alhazmi, who were suspected of hijacking the plane that crashed into the Pentagon.
Two other men suspected of paying for visas at the Qatar embassy also roomed with the hijackers. One of them, Ahmed Ahmad, was in custody, law enforcement officials said.
They did not release the name of the third man, saying he remained at large.
No embassy officials have been charged so far.
Two weeks ago, U.S. marshals in Wisconsin apprehended two Jordanians, Bilal Z. Shihadeh and Mohmud Z. Shehadeh, both 20, accused of entering the country using false Danish passports.
Citizens of western European countries, including Denmark, don't need visas to visit the United States because of international immigration agreements. Passports from those countries are in great demand among people trying to sneak into the United States, authorities said.
Shihadeh and Shehadeh had been living in Milwaukee with a relative who entered the country with a legal Brazilian passport.
Officials in Florida are prosecuting the men's case because they entered the country in that state.
-Three of the group are believed to have lived with the Sept. 11 hijackers.
Huh??
And the guy at the LA airport wasn't a terrorist, ya know.
Lots of intel in this article.
"-Three of the group are believed to have lived with the Sept. 11 hijackers."
"Huh??"
My thought exactly!! What kind of idiots are we trusting our lives to???? Talk about giving the enemy free reign!!
-Three of the group are believed to have lived with the Sept. 11 hijackers.
Huh??
Mega-HUH?
Racine, Kenosha etc is where we will be, these are not big towns. Unbelievable that they have infiltrated every corner of our world not just the NYC and DC's of the world.
MKM
- Three of the group are believed to have lived with the Sept. 11 hijackers.
- ...one of the group admitted he had lived in Virginia with two men, Hani Hanjour and Nawaf Alhazmi, who were suspected of hijacking the plane that crashed into the Pentagon.
...Those released by the court were found not to be dangerous to society," Schmitz said.
Amazing.
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