5 men with Mideast ties indicted in license scam (Tennessee)

Memphis Commercial Appeal ^ | February 28, 2002 | Bill Dries

[sarcasm]

Five New York City men with ties to the Middle East were indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday for their part in an alleged scheme to fraudulently obtain Tennessee driver's licenses.

In the indictment on one count of conspiracy to commit fraud, federal authorities shed no new light on the death of state license examiner Katherine Smith. Smith and the five men were charged in a Feb. 6 criminal complaint on an identical conspiracy charge.

Smith died Feb. 10 in a fiery car crash on U.S. 72 in Fayette County, the day before she was to appear at a detention hearing in U.S. Magistrate Court. Federal authorities have testified that the fire in the car was set.

Federal prosecutor Tim DiScenza declined comment Wednesday when asked about any developments in the probe of Smith's death or why the licenses were sought.

The indictment names the five defendants, Smith and "others, to the grand jury unknown" as part of the conspiracy. All five remain in custody.

The indictment gave this information about the alleged scheme:

Sakhera Hammad "would solicit individuals to come to Memphis . . . in order to obtain driver's licenses without proper documentation."

Hammad would then pay Khaled Odtllah, who lived in Shelby County, "in order for Odtllah to arrange with Katherine Smith" to issue the fraudulent licenses.

Hammad's cousin, Abdelmuhsen Mahmid Hammad, got a Tennessee license through Odtllah and Smith on Aug. 16, according to the indictment.

Sakhera Hammad obtained a fraudulent Tennessee license Oct. 8.

Abdelmuhsen Mahmid Hammad allegedly drove co-defendants Mohammed Fares, Mostafa Said Abou-Shahin and a juvenile to Memphis from New York Feb. 5 to get more licenses - one in Fares's name and three in names that prosecutors have said appear to be aliases.

FBI agents and Tennessee Highway Patrol investigators were tipped to the journey by an FBI agent in New York.

They set up surveillance outside the Summer Avenue testing station where Smith worked, according to an earlier FBI affidavit. When the group from New York left the station, the members and Smith were arrested.

Juvenile Court officials have since identified the juvenile as Ammar Khayata, 16. He is not charged but is being held by Juvenile Court officials at the request of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the officials said.

[Phebe]

Wow. This reminds me of that scam discovered right after 9/11 when 20 Mideast men were bribing a guy to get them hazardous materials truck driver licenses.

If they had her killed, I would say there may be a big plot here to do some terrorist attack. I was beginning to think they had shot all their ammunition. You would think Americans would know better than to get into such a thing --- she surely realized they couldn't want the illicit licenses for any good reason, and they were bomber types! Pretty stupid thing to do, and she died for it.

Phebe

[Shermy]

You sure late to post this one! Good catch.

Here's my template:

Feb. 7

Six Charged in Tenn. License Plot [Courtesy of the Tennessee DemocRAT Party]

Feb. 8 (for comedic relief)

Dri ver license fraud case here is a rare incident, state says

Feb. 11

WOMAN ARRESTED FOR AIDING ARABS IN DRIVER'S LICENSE SCAM PRESUMED DEAD

Tennessee finds a cost to easing driver's license rules Some other states, airlines no longer accept (Boston Globe)

Feb. 12

Feds fear license examiner is dead - Memphis Woman's co-defendants tied to 9/11, judge told

Feb. 13:

Body in car identified as license examiner - Update on Memphis, Tennesse License Examiner

Feb. 14

TENN DRIVER LICENSE SCANDAL: FLAMING DEATH NO ACCIDENT, FBI SAYS

TENN DRIVER LICENSE SCANDAL: FLAMING DEATH NO ACCIDENT, FBI SAYS (II)

Flaming death no accident, FBI says - Gasoline found on clothes of license examiner

Feb. 15

New York Times (with Pics of car) F.B.I. Says Arson Killed Woman Accused in License Scheme

Sm ith led low-impact life until arrest, fiery end (Not a thread)

Images of the burned car owned by Katherine Smith * alternate title: How Arabs Kill Witnesses

FBI Agent: Arson Killed Key Suspect (driver's license examiner accused of supplying terrorists)

Feb.16

License suspect had WTC repair pass, but Port Authority did its own work [Tennessee License Scandal]

TE NN DRIVER LICENSE SCANDAL: FLAMING DEATH NO ACCIDENT, FBI SAYS

***FBI checking 5 in illegal-license cases for possible al-Qaida links

Feb. 18:

Mourners remember the good deeds of license examiner, not how she died

Feb. 20

State Immigrant I.D. Llicense for Disaster, Foes Say [Tennessee License Scandal - Business as Usual]

Terror in Tennessee? (Front Page magazine)

Feb. 22

Terroris m expert [Steven Emerson] monitors the Mid-South (WMC-TV Memphis 2/23)

Feb. 24:

Caution: Driver license rule-makers at work

*TN License Scandals

Pics of License Scam suspects

Color Pics of Suspects

Other Stories

I-70 Traffic Stop Turns Up $300K In Cash, Undocumented Jordanian (Al Qaida Operative?) [2/22 Utah]

Licenses for undocumented aliens steer legislators both ways - Driving: INS official says passage of bill would make deportation more difficult; proponents say it would give sense of identity (Kansas 2/20)

Immigrant Licenses Debated ( ILLEGAL ALIENS... AGAIN )[Kansas 2/20]

***Grass roots, politicians differ on immigration (2/14 plus Grover Norquist Barf Alert)

FBI investigating ‘‘mass destruction’’ inquiry (2/21 Somali asks U. of Memphis professor for weapons advice

GAO Report Finds “Pervasive and Serious Problem”” with Immigration Benefit Fraud Terrorists and Drug Dealers Manipulating Benefits Application Process To Carry Out Criminal Activities

Man on FBI watch list spotted (2/23 Iraqi, with Saddam Connections, in truck with OK lic. Plates, Picking up chemicals in Michigan. Egads!) Santa Paula Mayor's Wife Target of Probe (Calif. -Selling Drivers Licenses to Illegals)

Phony IDs, Real Danger (CBS 2/26)

NJ Man Charged in Bogus ID Ring Linked to 9/11 Hijackers

And don’t forget the stories about the Doctor who “fell” off a Memphis bridge!

[Shermy]

From WMC-TV Channel 5:

Grand jury indicts license fraud suspects

Five men arrested for allegedly running a license fraud ring have been indicted by a grand jury. The men were in custody at the Federal Correctional Institute on John Denie Road in Shelby County while prosecutor Tim DiScenza read the indictment from a room inside the federal building in downtown Memphis.

All five of the Middle Eastern men were charged with one count of conspiracy. "This indictment carries a maximum possible penalty of not more than 5 years or $250-thousand fine and three years of supervisory release," said DiScenza.

According to the indictment, Sakhera Hammad would pay Kahled Odtllah sums of money and then Odtllah would arrange with driver's license examiner Katherine Smith to "have those licenses issued without proper documentation, without necessary tests being administered, and without proof of residency being obtained."

Then the indictment goes on to allege that Smith agreed to enter information into the Department of Safety computer system to make it appear that the men had the necessary documents. Investigators believe the scheme was going on or about August 1, 2001, and up to about February the 5th of 2002.

Attorneys for the men were not forewarned of today's development. But Clifton Harvel was not surprised. Harvel represents Mostafa Abou Shahin an Egyptian man who speaks very little English. At the time the indictment was being handed up, Harvel was communicating with his client for the first time since the arrest. While in prison, Shahin spent seven hours talking to his lawyer with the help of an Egyptian translator. The men will likely be arraigned in court some time within the next two weeks. While in prison the men are on 23 hour a day lock down.

[RaceBannon]

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY LINKS TO ARTICLES OF ARABS TAKING PICTURES OF DAMS, BLDS, CHEMICAL PLANTS, ETC?

[dalebert]

I thought FOX said these were just regular Americans trying to get work?

[aristeides]

5 NYC men? Are they in addition to Odtllah, who I think was a Shelby County local?

[archy]

Do either of you know if the name of Don Wiley ever comes up anywhere in the commentary on the TN License Scandals?

Thanks.

You might find the following article from the University of Memphis Daily Helmsman to be of interest:

Fed dollars to aid Tennessee security

By Rick Russell
Senior Reporter
February 27, 2002

Over the course of 43 years, Wendall Gilbert has become accustomed to facing adverse conditions and producing positive results. As a private in the U.S. Army, Gilbert spent the first part of his service fighting the nation’s battles in foreign lands.

Climbing the ranks to brigadier general, he spent the majority of his military career playing a leading role in preparing the world’s most powerful military machine to strike at the enemies of this nation at a moment’s notice.

However, as the recently appointed director of Homeland Security for Tennessee, Gilbert’s efforts are now focused on an entirely new element of “security and defense.” Now, Gilbert must prepare and protect the citizens of Tennessee against a faceless foe that he says poses one of the greatest national security threats in this nation’s history.

“It’s in our own backyard. ... And we are doing what we need to do to deter anyone from doing harm to the citizens of this state,” Gilbert said.

Following the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush appropriated $19.5 billion to be used for the sole purpose of closing the gaping holes in homeland national defenses that were exposed after the attacks.

Since then, Tom Ridge, who was appointed the national director of homeland defenses, has called for every state to appoint a homeland director to better facilitate the daunting task of coordinating all law enforcement agencies to solidify defense efforts.

“We are moving forward to attain the proper resources to increase the capability of responding and preventing terrorist attacks, but there is still much to be worked out,” Gilbert said.

While spending on homeland security has grown from $9 billion in 1993 to a projected $37.7 billion in 2003, it’s still unclear how the federal dollars will be distributed from state to state and from county to county. Also unclear is how much states will invest in homeland security.

Gilbert said it is likely that more federal dollars will go to locations that are considered as having “elements that involve high terrorism risk factors,” such as New York and D.C., and border states such as Texas, with a high influx of immigrants.

While there has been little mention of new developments regarding terrorist activity in most U.S. cities, Memphis has recently been placed at the epicenter of investigations linked to possible terrorist activity.

In a report issued by federal researchers in October, Tennessee ranked relatively low as a probable target for terrorists, but recent events involving “mysterious circumstances” have thrust the state and city into the national spotlight as a place with apparent ties to terrorist activity.

One of the most recent reasons for such an investigation is the fiery death of Memphis license examiner Katherine Smith, who was found dead in her charred car on U.S. Highway 72 after being linked to a scheme involving the illegal sale of Tennessee drivers licenses to five Middle Eastern men.

The incident, which is still being investigated, prompted lawmakers to discuss repealing a law passed last year that relaxed the statutes for immigrants to attain a valid Tennessee driver’s license without a social security number.

“It is a major problem, because a license is a portal for validation,” said Gilbert.

Tennessee is one of four states that allow people access to a driver’s license without a social security card.

In addition, two men reportedly approached University of Memphis professors in recent weeks, seeking information on nuclear physics and bridge construction and offering a “substantial sum of money” for the requested information.

A federal investigation is still pending in the case.

Though not linked to terrorist activity, the death of renowned microbiologist Don C. Wiley, who was killed after falling 135 feet from the Hernando Desoto Bridge in Memphis, attracted national attention due to his knowledge in the field of biological weapons and his death occurring at the height of the anthrax scare.

His death was ruled accidental by federal authorities, but those authorities said they are still not certain how Wiley fell.

While President Bush has made a substantial investment in law enforcement agencies at all levels, there remains a question of how the money will be distributed and if there will be a cost-sharing agreement between state and federal governments.

Gov. Don Sundquist has asked state legislators to spend an additional $8 million in state funding to provide more training, manpower and equipment for the states law enforcement agencies, but it has yet to be approved by state lawmakers.

While most states have laid the financial blueprint to fund state security, the unexpected cost of homeland security, coupled with the current budget crisis raging through the general assembly, has put Tennessee in a dilemma.

Some lawmakers said plans are in place to streamline appropriations from other areas of the budget to cover the cost, but others said the money is just not there.

While the federal dollars will first be channeled through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the bulk of the federal funding is expected to be allotted to localized law enforcement agencies.