2 Middle Eastern men found with video of Sears Tower

The Mercury ^ | October 17, 2001 | MICHELLE MOWAD

[testforecho]

2 found with video of Sears Tower

MICHELLE MOWAD, Special to The Mercury

October 17, 2001

PLYMOUTH -- Two men whom police described as Middle Eastern were detained in the township by federal immigration authorities after being found with detailed video footage of the Sears Tower in Chicago.

Plymouth Police encountered the men after an officer responded to Pizzeria Uno on the 1000 block of West Ridge Pike at 2:40 p.m. Thursday for a report of illegal dumping, according to reports.

A manager there advised the police officer that a tractor-trailer was observed backed up to the Dumpster at the rear of the restaurant. The manager noticed a freshly dumped pile of furniture adjacent to the Dumpster, according to police.

The manager confronted the vehicle's operator, a Middle Eastern man, police said.

The man, who later identified himself as Moshe Elmakias, 30, denied that he did anything and fled the scene, heading west on West Ridge Pike, according to police.

The manager was able to provide township police with the Florida registration number of the tractor-trailer and said that a sign posted on the side of the vehicle read "Moving Systems Incorporated" and included a phone number, police said.

The area was searched by township police, and the vehicle was spotted parked on the curb in front of John Kennedy Ford on Ridge Pike, just west of Industrial Way.

An officer proceeded to make contact with the occupants of the truck by knocking on the cab, according to reports.

A Middle Eastern man, later identified as Ron Katar, 23, exited the sleeper area of the cab and said that the operator was across the street as he pointed toward the Don Rosen Porsche dealer, reports said.

Elmakias and a white female, Ayelet Reisler, 23, were approaching the vehicle from the dealership, but the female then began walking in a different direction, acting as if she were not with Elmakias, according to reports.

Reisler was detained and checked for identification. She had a German passport in her name and medication in a different name, police said.

Plymouth Police Sgt. Thomas Longo was notified and responded to the incident.

Elmakias allegedly admitted to being behind Pizzeria Uno, although he said that he did not dump furniture, he was only turning around.

Elmakias said that his destination was New York and that he was also coming from New York. He said he was in Plymouth because he was supposed to make a pickup from a male in the morning and pointed toward the Storage USA facility on Belvoir Road and West Ridge Pike, police said.

Elmakias could not, however, provide a name or telephone number of the customer.

Township police dispatched a request for a Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program Inspector. Officer Gerald Schwartz of the Whitpain Police Department responded.

Schwartz discovered through his investigation that the operator's log had been falsified and put the truck out of service due to violations, police said. In addition, the vehicle reportedly had numerous equipment violations that rendered the truck unsafe.

Inspection of the tractor-trailer's contents revealed a load three-quarters full containing household items, including furniture and boxes.

Among the items in the truck was a Sony video camera.

Plymouth Police Officer David McCann reviewed the tape found inside the camera. The tape had video footage of Chicago with zoomed-in shots of the Sears Tower, according to police.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation was notified of the incident and all three subjects were transported to the Plymouth Police station.

The subjects were then processed through the National Crime Information Center and placed into detention, according to the report.

FBI Agents James Sweeney and Richard Tofani arrived at the station and proceeded to investigate both the subjects and their belongings with the assistance of Immigration and Naturalization Services.

Elmakias and Katar were eventually detained by INS and transported to a federal facility, said police. Reisler was released.

All evidence collected by Plymouth and Whitpain officers was transferred to federal facilities with the exception of a VCR.

Special Agent Linda Vizi, a spokeswoman for the Philadelphia FBI, could not be contacted for comment on further investigations.

©The Mercury 2001

[Freedom56v2]

Thanks! This article provides a lot more info than what was presensted on FOX or CNN. So terrorists may travel on German citizenship/passport and have families. Amazing. I wonder if there are other countries like Germany that have liberal citizenship rules where we may possibly find terrorists in marriages of convenience. Hard to determine, but might beworth looking into. I sure hope FBI/CIA is looking into this!

[Benson_Carter]

I wonder how many of these guys in the same group have married American women as a means to get citizenship?

[Freedom56v2]

I was wondering same thing--Saw Peggy Noonan's column on Drudge--she said in effect that in this time of war, we need to be more vigilant and less politically correct. These "sleepers" (and who knows, they may have American wives and hence have citizenship) are worse than spies; we need to smoke them out in our own country. If innocent middle easterners are asked sensitive questions, it would be helpful if they would cooperate and understand that it is a matter of security and not racism. If they are offended, one has to wonder about their commitment to this country. We are at war and the enemy lives among us.

[Freedom56v2]

I sure hope someone from "homeland security" is putting the pieces together--there are just so many little pieces of info out there--seemingly unrelated, yet they do fit together to make interesting theories.

[Travis McGee]

I wonder how many of their American wives have been talked into visiting "the old country" and have then "decided" not to come back to America?

[AlGone2001]

Is the Red Brigade still around??

I was considering the same thing as I read this. I think they also went by the term Red Army Faction. They hated Americans.

[Silvertip]

Attention. Attention!

START THE NUKING NOW. REPEAT. START THE NUKING NOW.

[FR_addict]

need to bump this one because of today's news.