[Liz]

The United States attorney..........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.

The NY Times failed to report on why it is illegal in the US to facilitate business transactions through money transfers.

[SpyGuy]

The diminutive Mr. Abraham sat nearly dwarfed by the high-backed chair at the defendant's table in federal court

Is this little Op-Ed by the NY Times supposed to make us feel sympathetic towards this terrorist facilitator?

[Fracas]

From Professional Jeweler magazine.

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

[MarkL]

My guess is that if you're not a licensed arms dealer, then handling the finances for an arms transfer is what makes this illegal. Especially if you're trying to transfer weapons to known terrorists.

If this guy is guilty, he shouldn't go to jail. He should be dead. And no, I don't mean the death penalty. I mean an "accident." Like the battery of a cell phone eploding while he's using it. Or maybe a case of lead poisoning... a 40gr chunk of lead somehow lodging in his brain, etc...

If the people who handle the money in weapons transactions for terrorist groups start turning up dead all over the world, my guess is that the financial sources for the terrorist groups would begins to really dry up.

Mark

[nuconvert]

"40-pound, Russian-made Igla-S portable missile"

That would make kind of a heavy necklace.