Posted on 04/01/2002 12:06:07 PM PST by rface
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - A man has pleaded guilty to conspiring to funnel money, weapons and supplies to the Hezbollah terrorist group and will testify against other defendants, prosecutors said Monday.
Said Mohamad Harb, 31, pleaded guilty to conspiracy Feb. 25 and a charge of providing material support to a known terrorist organization was dropped, U.S. Attorney Robert Conrad said.
Harb's trial had been scheduled to begin in two weeks. Conrad said the plea was kept secret because Harb agreed to testify against other defendants in exchange for the removal of some of his relatives from Lebanon to the United States. They arrived Monday.
The case stems from an investigation into a group accused of smuggling cigarettes from North Carolina to other states for resale, then funneling the profits to the Lebanese militant group.
Harb, 31, a Lebanon-born naturalized U.S. citizen, was charged last year with providing Hezbollah with cash and supplies, including stun guns, blasting equipment, night vision goggles and mine detection equipment.
A lawyer for Harb declined to comment.
Two more men still face charges of providing material support to a terrorist group, Conrad said. They are Mohamad Youssef Hammoud, originally identified by authorities as the group's ringleader, and Sheik Abbas Harake, identified as a military commander who lives outside Beirut.
Hammoud, who was already charged with racketeering and money laundering, is in custody. Harake is at large.
Three other men are charged with conspiracy in the case. Two are at large and the third was arrested in Canada but never extradited.
"There's only been eight people nationwide who have been charged with providing material support to a militant organization and six of them were part of this investigation," Conrad said.
Harb's trial would have been one of the first prosecuted under a 1996 law that forbids providing material support to known terrorist organizations. A conviction brings up to 60 years in prison.
The case began in 2000, when 18 people were arrested. Some defendants were charged with smuggling millions of dollars worth of cheap cigarettes out of North Carolina to resell in states where higher taxes push the price up.
A superseding indictment last year levied more serious accusations, with prosecutors calling some of the co-defendants members of a Charlotte-based cell of Hezbollah.
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Ashland, Missouri
It’s been a REAL long day, so I’m just gonna guess that I’m not reading the above paragraph correctly. To my fatigued brain, it looks like we bribed him into snitching on his terror supporting buddies by bringing in a bunch of his relatives in from Lebanon.
Removal from Lebanon to the United States. Gee, that sure sounds like they’re being given permanent residence here. Would I be stretching an assumption that at least some of these relatives might share Mr. Harb’s pro-terror sentiments?
No, I just can’t be reading that right…
Owl_Eagle
”Guns Before Butter.”
Them darn redneck tarheels have gotten much more clever with their nicknames since I left there.
Are we out of our minds?
I have GOT to remember that learning from the past is PREJUDICE. Gotta keep an open mind…
Owl_Eagle
”Guns Before Butter.”
Pish-tush, my good man!
I'm sure that the relatives were thoroughly vetted, what with our unbelievably thorough State Department background checks and all.
And even if there were a slip-up, we have the astoundingly efficient and capable INS to keep track of them once they're here.
Wake up and smell the roses, folks - if it's islamic, it cannot be trusted! I don't care HOW well you, as a non-islamic, think you know them, or if your kids play with their kids, you cannot trust them!
Read the "koran" - the only way they can guaranty entry to "heaven" is to destroy non-islamics for allah (only a VERY slight over-simplification here, which you would know if you actually did your homework....). Destroying you, as a non-islamic, includes measures such as, but not limited to, sending their own children to blow themselves up in your presence (whether the child understands what pushing the little button really means, or not!). If you do not understand the reality of this scenario, then you have no clue and are a "weakest link"!
Sad, but true! Islamics do not want peace! They want to kill non-islamics. If you're a non-islamic, you're a target.
I'm NOT suggesting living in fear; I'm suggesting becoming prepared! Learn about the adversary and watch for the signs - vigilance, not vigilantism!! Merely knowing when to duck goes a LONG way - LOL!
Good points all. Also even if they did harbor an psychopathic hatred for American and all Americans, when we give them the gift of citizenship, they’ll surely come to love us!
Owl_Eagle
”Guns Before Butter.”
If so they are probably electric midgets. Check if they carry lime jello.
They are welcome to share my standards and embrace American values, I draw the line when they want to adopt my eels.
I saw that same map a few months back and am still wondering about that group in Raleigh. Do they have regular meetings? Membership drives? Fundraisers? An annual 6K run?
I have been away from FR for a few days but will ping the NC list.
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