Posted on 09/16/2005 5:58:17 AM PDT by gg188
'Scary' U of M student jailed
Possible terrorism ties under investigation
By Chris Conley
September 16, 2005
When FBI agents walked into Mahmoud Maawad's spartan apartment at 3557 Mynders # 5 on Sept. 9, they found a desk, chair, computer and a Koran.
They also found an airline pilot's uniform, a chart of Memphis International Airport, and instructional DVDs, including one called "How an Airline Captain Should Look and Act."
A federal magistrate Thursday ordered Maawad, a 29-year-old University of Memphis student from Egypt, jailed until his trial on charges of wire fraud and fraudulent use of a Social Security number.
"The specific facts and circumstances are scary," Asst. U.S. Atty. Steve Parker said, arguing against Maawad's release.
Since Maawad can't get a Social Security number, "he can't get a pilot's license, and can't go to flight school," Parker said. "But he wants to get behind the wheel of an aircraft."
Parker said "we don't know either way" if Maawad is a terrorist or connected to any terror groups.
U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Thomas Anderson ruled that Maawad be held without bond.
Though it's not illegal to buy aviation material, Anderson noted, "it is hard for the court to understand why he has a large concentration of those items, and nothing else to indicate Mr. Maawad plans to stay in the community."
Maawad has been in the country illegally since 1999, and has used a false Social Security number to enroll in schools and open a bank account, Parker said.
He's been working off-the-books for cash at a North Memphis convenience store, and was arrested by Shelby County sheriff's deputies last spring for selling alcohol to a minor.
Agents are downloading information from Maawad's computer and analyzing materials from his apartment in search of a terrorism connection.
"My school is everything," said Maawad, a clean-shaven man built like a weightlifter. "I stay in this country for seven years; I stay for the school."
Maawad said he's studying science and economics at the U of M.
Since Maawad can't work legally, he told authorities a friend would support him.
When court employees tried to reach that friend, the telephone was disconnected.
Between April and August, the penniless student ordered $3,000 in aviation materials, DVDs titled "Ups and Downs of Takeoffs and Landings," "Airplane Talk," "Mental Math for Pilots" and "Mastering GPS Flying," FBI agent Thad Gulczynski testified.
He also ordered a pilot's coat and hat, and a chart of the Memphis airport terminal area from Spotty's USA in San Diego.
When the company didn't receive payment on $2,500 worth of merchandise it had delivered, officials called the FBI, which launched an investigation, Gulczynski said.
-- Chris Conley: 529-2595
Copyright 2005, commercialappeal.com - Memphis, TN. All Rights Reserved.
NYU and BU and a few other universities would go bankrupt.
There's a gas station/convenience store in North Memphis that I use because their gas prices are always lower than anyone in the city. The staff is about 8 ME guys, 20-40yo, and they have recently rotated in a number of new guys. Every time I'm in there, I can't help but wonder...
I have NEVER seen a woman of ME decent there with them.I keep telling myself that their culture requires them to work, with their women at home.
Sometimes I think I shouldnt buy from them, but then I think I'm just being racist.
What would you other Freepers do?
BTW, Memphis has been LOADED with stories of ME men being arrested for ID fraud, one of which ended with their black female coconspiritor with the licensing bureau dead in a one car accident. Another story is of a man caught in a bogus marriage scam for citizenship, and pics of him firing an RPG were found in his home.
Yeah, nothing going on here in Memphis!!
That is because they get an inflated amount of tuition for taking in these foreign students. These foreign students are taking spots away from American students who are actually turned away for an education because these guys pay more and take up space of just one student.
I would not define them as idiots. Atta murdered nearly 3,000 people and brought down the trade centers. He did not almost miss his flight. He had the timing down perfectly because he had lots of dry runs. He knew how much time he needed to get to his flights while spending as little time as possible in the airport. He also knew that the man in Maine withheld his boarding pass for his Boston connection, when it should have been given to him. They sent up lots of red flags, sure, but idiots, no. People who need to be wiped off the face of the planet? Yes.
Paging Jack Bauer? Sounds good to me!
It's not a matter of being Racist. When was the last time that a 19 year old Blonde Swedish bombshell blew herself up in a crowded market place?
You were right to wonder, but you should be more than that. Highly suspicious.
good points
I find interesting that the Shelby County Sheriff cut him loose after arresting him on any charge.
Nothing has been learned since 9/11.
Are you going to boycott every company that sells Microsoft Flight Simulator? Including Microsoft itself?
Good luck with this. Let me know how it works out.
In this country illegally since 1999 --- sure says a lot about Homeland Security - Huh??
Look up the word "know" in the dictionary.
The look up the word "suspect".
See any difference?
Maawad, you lucky boy, you just won the grand prize--an unlimited stay at a resort on a beautiful Carribbean island.
Yeah, that.
I'm sorry if I offend any older FReepers who are continuing their educations later in life but, in general, I think anyone who's 29 and still in college is probably so out of touch with the real world they should be investigated as a matter of course.
OK, FBI, CIA, Homeland Security, etc.
Let's NOT F this one up!
After letting a camel walk on this guy's face a few times, they should put him in the back of a cargo jet and send him back to Krapistan for all time.
These things suggest that Atta & Moussaoui were conflicted, and undermined themselves through avoidable errors.
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