I did find a very interesting bit of news in this article though that confirms my original suspicions. This has details (but doesn't draw deliberate attention to them) that the men were not just seeking a license for driving the company van around. Follow:
When Sakher A. Hammad was arrested, he had in his possession a visitor's identification card that gave him access to the building just a few days before the terrorist attacks.Hammad, a plumber, told federal authorities he was working on the sprinklers, according to court testimony.
DiScenza dropped government objections to a release on bond after Hammad's father, Peter Hansen, put up his Staten Island home as security for a $250,000 bond.
Hansen, a senior engineer for the City of New York, testified at the March hearing that his son was "born again" when he came legally to the U.S. from Jordan.
"America is our country," Hansen said as his son wept. "We are a very dedicated family. We love work . . . We would never think to do harm to anyone."
But DiScenza urged the judge not to grant bond to the others.
When Donald upheld detention without bond for the other four, she called them flight risks because of their immigration status or substantial connections through family to other countries, where they might flee if released.
She noted that Odtllah, the alleged leader of the fraud scheme, has a wife and family in Jerusalem.
But the judge said in her ruling there was no evidence to support "these potentially inflammatory assertions" about connections to Sept. 11.
Here's how prosecutors allege the scheme worked:
Odtllah, who has been living in Cordova for two years, offered Tennessee driver's licenses to illegal immigrants for a fee of around $1,000 each. The Hammads, both self-employed plumbers in Brooklyn, acted as middlemen, finding the clients and bringing them to Memphis, where Smith would issue them licenses.
In early February, the Hammads allegedly drove co-defendants Fares and Abou-Shahin and a juvenile to Memphis from New York City to get four driver's licenses - one in Fares's name and three in names that prosecutors have said appear to be aliases.
[snip].
Sakher Hammad was also in town to get a second Tennessee driver's license. He and his cousin already had Tennessee licenses using the same Morning Lake Drive address of the apartment complex where Odtllah lived.
The plumber's defense has been that he needed a license to work. I'd think that the company would want a local license if the employee is to be trusted with the company van. The plumber also already had a license and was pocketing another (identity).
The family seems to be pretty well off ($250,000 home). So why didn't he just apply for citizenship if this is his "home"?
It's a big scam to give jobs to illegals, and taking them away from Americans. Because it's profitable.
Self-employed? And working in the WTC? Very suspicious.