Posted on 02/08/2002 10:52:22 AM PST by Native American Female Vet
Former license examiner admits selling bogus hazardous-materials hauling licenses to Iraqi men
By Joe Mandak, Associated Press, 2/8/2002 14:05
PITTSBURGH (AP) A fired Pennsylvania driver's license examiner pleaded guilty Friday to selling 20 Iraqi men bogus commercial licenses that authorized most of them to haul hazardous materials.
Robert A. Ferrari, 57, could get up to two years in federal prison under a plea bargain that also requires him to admit to related state charges.
Based on information provided by Ferrari, 20 Iraqi men were arrested in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas and Washington state in late September amid fears that terrorists might be planning attacks using trucks hauling hazardous materials. Federal authorities have since determined those men had no terrorist ties.
U.S. District Judge Robert Cindrich said that between the Sept. 11 attacks and Ferrari's first interview with the FBI on Sept. 23, Ferrari must have been worried that he had sold licenses to terrorists.
''To me, that would be like being in the lowest circle of hell for 12 days,'' the judge said. Three men who bought the licenses have pleaded guilty.
Ferrari admitted responsibility for 20 bogus licenses. Eighteen of them were for hauling hazardous materials.
Authorities said the men paid up to $1,000 for their licenses, or agreed to buy things for a middleman. Ferrari's cut was as little as $50 or $100 for some licenses, prosecutors said.
Ferrari faces state charges of tampering with public records and unlawful use of a computer for selling 56 additional licenses.
We did know this approach is out there, though. This puts a face on it.
And just how did they "determine" that? Just because they didn't find anything, it doesn't mean that these guys are clean.
I'm sure the Iraqis are up to something really innocent here. They just wanted to drive cross-country for the fun of it.
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Tennessee Governor Don Sunsdquist is nominally a Republican, though from his repeated attempts to obtain an income tax and other tax increases, and his maintenance of Democratic cronies in some state positions [including that of the director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, headed by Al Gore crony Larry Wallace] you might not notice.
Tennessee Governor Don Sundquist is nominally a Republican, though from his repeated attempts to obtain an income tax and other tax increases, and his maintenance of Democratic cronies in some state positions [including that of the director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, headed by Al Gore crony Larry Wallace] you might not notice.
Frankly, I do not think they are really sharp enough to completely rule this out. Despite assumptions about Federal Authoritis knowing all, my experience is that they are not always the sharpest tacks. They should only say that they have not found terrorist ties. By saying they have no ties it lowers one's guard. Silly.
Frankly, I do not think they are really sharp enough to completely rule this out. Despite assumptions about Federal Authoritis knowing all, my experience is that they are not always the sharpest tacks. They should only say that they have not found terrorist ties. By saying they have no ties it lowers one's guard. Silly.
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