Posted on 03/31/2004 2:45:24 AM PST by Liz
NEWARK, March 30 - A 76-year-old New York jeweler pleaded guilty on Tuesday to operating an illegal money-transferring business in what prosecutors said was a scheme to provide terrorists with shoulder-fired missiles that could bring down commercial aircraft. Prosecutors conceded that he did not know what the transaction involved.
The jeweler, Yehuda Abraham, admitted in Federal District Court here that his business handled a $30,000 down payment in the sale of the 40-pound, Russian-made Igla-S portable missile. He entered the plea without any agreement to cooperate with the United States attorney and testify in what has become an important anti-terrorism case.
That case, which government officials have highlighted as one of the most serious post-9/11 prosecutions and as an indication of how aggressively they are pursuing potential terrorist plots, involves a sting operation last August that led to the arrest of a British citizen, Hemant Lakhani, 69.
Mr. Lakhani, who has pleaded not guilty and whose lawyer said was entrapped, is charged with arranging for the sale of Russian-made missiles and the makings for a "dirty bomb" to an undercover operative who posed as a representative of a Somali terrorist cell. He was arrested in a hotel near Newark Liberty International Airport as the deal was being closed.
The United States attorney, Christopher J. Christie, said the government had not sought a cooperation agreement with Mr. Abraham because he had little to offer in the way of testimony against Mr. Lakhani. But Mr. Christie said he was seeking a three-year prison sentence for Mr. Abraham, who has admitted to facilitating many business deals through such transfers, which are illegal in the United States but are traditionally accepted in other parts of the world.
"I hope this sentence says to those involved in the money remitting business that we are going to take it seriously because they could be aiding terrorists," Mr. Christie said as he stood outside the federal courthouse after the plea hearing. "The post-9/11 world is a very different world."
The diminutive Mr. Abraham sat nearly dwarfed by the high-backed chair at the defendant's table in federal court on Tuesday as he answered questions from Judge Katharine S. Hayden, who wanted to make sure he understood his plea and its consequences. He acknowledged receiving a $600 fee to transfer the $30,000 down payment for the transaction, but denied knowing what it was for. He described a prearranged code in which the courier gave him the serial number of a dollar bill to make himself known.
Judge Hayden scheduled sentencing for July 19 and continued Mr. Abraham's release on $10 million bond. After court, Mr. Abraham, two women and his lawyer, Larry Krantz, hurried away and refused to answer any questions about the case.
The NY Times failed to report on why it is illegal in the US to facilitate business transactions through money transfers.
Is this little Op-Ed by the NY Times supposed to make us feel sympathetic towards this terrorist facilitator?
The jewelry and gem business has been increasingly scrutinized by the government's USA Patriot Act enforcers to ensure the industry's products are not sold to fund terrorism, or exploited for the purpose of hiding funds that support terrorism. Media coverage has focused recently on the arrest of New York gem dealer Yehuda Abraham on charges related to an FBI sting of an alleged terrorist arms supplier.
How do consumers feel about this? When asked by the JCOC survey if recent arrests have adversely altered their perception of the diamond and jewelry industry in general or of New York's 47th Street specifically, 61% of consumers surveyed said no, with 31% unsure, and only 8% indicating their opinion has changed for the worse.
http://www.professionaljeweler.com/archives/news/2003/091603story.html
Victimization is a basic belief by which they escape blame, find others responsible for their own wrongdoing, and expect taxpayers, high-priced lawyers, and the courts to bail them out.
It's always about feeling good about themselves and keeping their self-esteem intact. "Victimization" goes hand in hand with an outsized "sense of entitlement" that they are above the law. The rest of us exist to pay-up, and clean-up their filthy messes.
Now just hold on there, ...
Stop to consider this..
Maybe the poll is fair and accurate
You are just interpreting it incorrectly..
What if the people polled didn't have a very high opinion of Jewelers in the 1st place?
Now, look at that poll again, with that in mind.. ;oP
What I want to know is what they did with this poll. Was it used to get this guy a lighter sentence?
You know, you're right. Poor guy was confused. Terrorists musta told him "40-pound Igla-S" was the Russion word for "40 carat diamond-studded necklace."
How do consumers feel about this? When asked by the JCOC survey if recent arrests have adversely altered their perception of the diamond and jewelry industry in general or of New York's 47th Street specifically, 61% of consumers surveyed said no, with 31% unsure, and only 8% indicating their opinion has changed for the worse.
I reiterate and extrapolate..
If I think they are all scumbags already, how is my opinion "adversely affected"?
This is a professionally crafted pollster's question..
It is designed to present the poll results in the best possible light regardless of the answers recieved.
So why hire professional pollsters in a cut and dry case of terrorism when the moneyman-jeweler pled guilty if not to manipulate public opinion.
I'm not arguing that they weren't trying to manipulate public opinion..
I'm arguing that public opinion was never high in the first place..
I simply pointed out that the poll ONLY indicated that public opinion hadn't worsened..
The industry's statements interpreted those poll results in the best light..
referring again to Post#3...
The jewelry and gem business has been increasingly scrutinized by the government's USA Patriot Act enforcers to ensure the industry's products are not sold to fund terrorism, or exploited for the purpose of hiding funds that support terrorism. Media coverage has focused recently on the arrest of New York gem dealer Yehuda Abraham on charges related to an FBI sting of an alleged terrorist arms supplier.
How do consumers feel about this? When asked by the JCOC survey if recent arrests have adversely altered their perception of the diamond and jewelry industry in general or of New York's 47th Street specifically, 61% of consumers surveyed said no, with 31% unsure, and only 8% indicating their opinion has changed for the worse.
Extrapolating from the above:
"Recent arrests" (plural) means there have been more than one arrest, the others not necessarily related to the arms selling, but to terrorist related trading in diamonds..
Rumours have been circulating that Al Queda and other terrorist groups had transferred huge sums of money into diamonds and other precious gems, because they were much easier to smuggle from one country to another..
Once in the destination country, they can then be converted back into local currency, and used for terror related activities..
This equals bad public relations, which in turn equals bad business..
The industry wishes to disassociate itself from the arms trader, terrorism, and anything else that is bad for business..
A business in which nobody trusts anyone..
Good points. However, you are well-informed, as all of us FReepers are. I don't know if it's safe to assume that all those polled were acting on the kind of detailed information you, and the rest of us possess.
Did we, by chance, overlook some fairly significant points. You know, other than the fact that they did a poll?
Does flight TWA800 ring anyone's bell here?
Now, don't get mad, it just seems pretty obvious that this could, and should, be linked to that investigation, and no one is talking about it. Which seems remarkable to me.
Look, it could happen to anybody. The old guy Yehuda was probably standing in line at Starbucks for his morning double decaf latte and happened to meet a terrorist who engaged him in conversation. Happens all the time, for God's sake.
So the terrorist forced it out of Yehuda that he was a diamond dealer with worldwide contacts and dealt in secret money transactions.
Heck, I mean, doesn't everybody?
Poor little guy Yehuda never figured the US government would even bother with it, never mind get all het up and actually "arrest" people.
Sheesh, Yehuda only facilitated terrorists buying shoulder-launched missiles so they could shoot down American airliners, kill Americans, and destabilize the US economy.
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