Feds fear license examiner is dead

A missing Tennessee driver's license examiner charged with conspiring to provide licenses fraudulently was probably the victim of a "most unusual and suspicious" death, a federal prosecutor said Monday. Asst. U.S. Atty. Tim Di Scenza also raised the possibility in court that Katherine Smith's five codefendants are involved in terrorism against the United States, citing "connections" to Sept. 11 and the World Trade Center.

A defense attorney, however, protested that the only reason the prosecutor raised the issue of terrorism is that the defendants are from the Middle East.

DiScenza told the court that the same car Smith drove when she was arrested Feb. 5 crashed in Fayette County east of Collierville early Sunday.

Although the gas tank did not explode and the car was only slightly dented from impact with a pole, a fire burned the person inside beyond recognition, FBI agent J. Suzanne Nash testified Monday.

The body had not been identified late Monday, but DiScenza told U.S. Magistrate Judge Diane Vescovo that there was a "great possibility" it was Smith.

While authorities have not determined if foul play was involved in Smith's disappearance, Vescovo described the revelations as "upsetting and disturbing."

Nash testified she was called about the wreck at 1 a.m. Sunday. Smith's family told authorities she'd been missing since Saturday night.

Smith was to have appeared Monday for a detention and probable cause hearing in the conspiracy case against her and Khaled Odtllah, 31, of Shelby County; Sakhera Hammad, 24, of New York City, and Mohammed Fares, Mostafa Said Abou-Shahin and Abdelmuhsen Mahmid Hammad, for whom ages and addresses were unavailable.

Smith had been free on bond since Feb. 5. The other five defendants have been detained since their arrest the same day.

The specter of terrorism and Sept. 11 emerged in Monday's hearing when DiScenza asked Nash if documents seized from the suspects had been examined.

She responded that a visitor's pass for the World Trade Center, dated Sept. 5, 2001, was found in Sakhera Hammad's wallet. Hammad told authorities he was a plumber and worked on the center's sprinkler system, Nash said.

She also said that Abdelmuhsen Mahmid Hammad and Sakhera Hammad said they were cousins, and worked together in the plumbing business.

Nash also testified that Odtllah drove back from New York City to Memphis on Sept. 11.

But Anthony Helm, attorney for Odtllah, asked Nash, "You certainly don't have any indication any of these fellows is a terrorist, do you?"

Helm also argued that Odtllah has many relatives in New York City, suggesting it wouldn't be unusual for him to travel there.

Vescovo continued the hearing until Wednesday for three of the defendants, Abou-Shanin, Abdelmuhsen Mahmid Hammad and Fares, primarily to arrange for an Arabic interpreter. The men told the FBI they are in the country illegally. She went ahead with the hearing for Odtllah and Sakhera Hammad.

Nash testified that Odtllah and Sakhera Hammad led the driver's license scheme. She said Odtllah made the arrangements with his friend Smith, and that Hammad drove the people who bought the fraudulent licenses from New York.

She said that Odtllah received $1,000 per license, and that Hammad would receive any amount paid over $1,000.

After two hours of testimony and arguments, Vescovo ordered each man held without bond until their trial.

During the hearing, Di Scenza and Nash revealed details of the government's case against the six defendants.

Smith had told authorities after her arrest that Odtllah, who goes by the nickname "Kal," was a friend, and that he had asked her to help him obtain driver's licenses six or seven times before.

Odtllah has lived in Shelby County two and a half years. Until a few months ago, he owned a Phillips 66 gas station. He also buys and sells cars.

Nash testified that Smith had said she was buying from Odtllah the champagne-colored 1992 Acura that crashed early Sunday.

Nash testified that Smith had assigned four driver's license numbers in the station's computer system using forms filled out by Odtllah. But only Fares's license showed his correct name. The other three applications contained fictitious and "totally untraceable" names, DiScenza said.

Nash said Sakhera Hammad told her he came to Tennessee to get driver's licenses only to help people have identification so they can get jobs.

Sakhera Hammad is from Jordan, but has become a U.S. citizen, said his father, Peter Hansen of New York, who attended the hearing.

DiScenza said a key question is whether the alleged license conspiracy had a purpose greater than obtaining driver's licenses so illegal immigrants could find work.

Do the circumstances in the case connect the alleged conspiracy to the World Trade Center terrorism, he asked rhetorically.

Helm argued that the case is not "connected to anything else in the world." He said prosecutors are making the terrorism implications only because the defendants are from the Middle East.

Vescovo said the "completely untraceable" licenses were a great concern to the court.

"What further concerns me greatly is that Ms. Smith's vehicle has been burned and a body is inside," she said.

While no testimony Monday links Odtllah or Sakhera Hammad to Smith's disappearance, Vescovo said, "She is connected to the case against them."

Nash also testified that Odtllah drove back from New York City to Memphis on Sept. 11.
The more details that come out in this story, the curiouser and curiouser they get.

I wouldn't be surprised if the body in the car belongs to other than Katherine Smith at this point.

Can't have been these guys who did it. After all, we have been repeatedly informed that Islam is a very peaceful religion, and its practicioners are paragons of politically correct peacefulness.

Still, those guys have to have been more than a little upset at finding their Tennessee Driver's License photos on all those FBI Identification Orders....

The FBI issued an alert on Feb. 11, 2002 about a possible attack on the United States or against U.S. interests in Yemen as early as Feb. 12. The FBI said Fawaz Yahya al-Rabeei, a Saudi-born Yemeni man, may be a possible ringleader. Fawaz Yahya al-Rabeei is pictured in this undated FBI handout photo. (FBI via Reuters) - Feb 12 8:25 AM ET

Twelve of the associates of terrorist suspect Fawaz Yahya al-Rabeei, are seen in this combo of photos released by the FBI on Monday, Feb. 11, 2002. The FBI issued an extraordinary terrorist alert Monday night, asking law enforcement and the American public to be on the lookout for al-Rabeei, and several associates who might be plotting a terrorist attack as early as Tuesday, Feb. 12. From left top row: Ahmad al-Akhader Nasser Albidani, Alyan Muhammad Ali al-Wa'eli, Issam Ahmad Dibwan al-Makhlafi, Bassam Abdullah Bin Bushar al-Nahdi, Samir Abduh Sa'id al-Maktawi, Ammar Abadah Nasser al-Wa'eli. From left bottom row: Abdulaziz Muhammad Saleh bin Otash, Shuhour Abdullah Mukbil al-Sabri, Bashir Ali Nasser al-Sharari, Omar Ahmad Omar al-Hubishi, Abdulrab Muhammad Muhammad Ali al-Sayfi, Mustafa Abdulkader Aabed al-Ansari. (AP Photo/FBI)

Attack Against U.S. Possible Tuesday, FBI Says
Mon Feb 11,11:27 PM ET
By JoAnne Allen

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A terror attack on the United States or against U.S. interests in Yemen is possible as early as Tuesday in a plot believed to be led by a Saudi-born Yemeni man, the FBI (news - web sites) said on Monday.

In the most specific alert about possible attacks that the FBI has issued since the Sept. 11 strikes on America, the bureau said evidence an attack may be imminent emerged from interrogations of prisoners captured in the Afghan war.

"Recent information indicates a planned attack may occur in the United States or against U.S. interests in the country of Yemen on or around February 12, 2002," the FBI said.

While mentioning the names and nationalities of the "extremely dangerous" suspects, the alert did not specify possible targets.

The FBI said one or more operatives may be involved in the strike and named a suspected ringleader Fawaz Yahya al-Rabeei, identified as a Yemeni man who also has a number of aliases. The FBI did not immediately offer a physical description of him.

The alert listed more than a dozen aliases for al-Rabeei including "Furqan" and said he may be traveling on a Yemeni passport. It is not known whether he is in the United States or abroad, the statement said.

The fourth alert issued since the September attacks blamed on Saudi-born Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s al Qaeda network also named 16 possible associates of al-Rabeei, saying most of them were Yemeni nationals but a few may be Saudi or Tunisian.

The FBI alert did not specifically link the alleged plot to the al Qaeda guerrilla network.

The FBI said it sent its alert to law enforcement agencies around the United States and the world. "Law enforcement officers are requested to stop and detain these individuals and to contact the FBI for further guidance," the statement said.

The Bush administration, which launched a military campaign in Afghanistan (news - web sites) in response to the September attacks, has said it believes al Qaeda has "sleeper cells" in the United States.

U.S. law enforcement authorities have detained hundreds of people suspected to be linked to al Qaeda with the stated goal of disrupting possible planned attacks by a network that is believed to operate out of about 60 nations.

"SECOND-HAND INFORMATION"

A U.S. intelligence official, who requested anonymity, told Reuters, "A detainee passed second-hand information on about a possible threat to U.S. interests, but he was unclear whether it was in the United States or in Yemen."

The United States currently is holding 254 captives from the war in Afghanistan -- identified as being members of al Qaeda or the toppled Taliban regime -- at the U.S. Navy (news - web sites) Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The captives are being questioned by U.S. authorities.

U.S. interests have been targeted with destructive effect in recent years in Yemen, a poor Arab nation located at the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula.

Two suicide bombers blew a hole in the side of the guided missile destroyer USS Cole (news - web sites) in 2000, during a port call in Aden, Yemen, killing 17 U.S. sailors.

The United States has called bin Laden a key suspect in the Cole bombing. Yemen in December began a hunt for suspected militants linked to bin Laden.

A Yemeni official told Reuters last week Yemen had sent a team of investigators to the United States to help interrogate Yemenis captured in Afghanistan. At that time, 17 Yemenis were reported to be among the captives being held at Guantanamo Bay.

On Feb. 6, CIA Director George Tenet told the Senate Intelligence Committee attacks on American targets could be launched by al Qaeda cells already in major cities in Europe and the Middle East, and the network could exploit connections to other groups in countries including Yemen.

The FBI has issued three previous terror alerts, on Dec. 3, Oct. 29 and Oct. 11. No previous FBI alert has specified the nationalities or names of suspects plotting possible attacks.

The FBI has been criticized for raising alarm by issuing warnings perceived not to be specific enough to help Americans or law enforcement officers actually be on alert.

XXX

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