FBI calling off Vegas threat probe after man fails polygraph

Associated Press / SFGate

[RCW2001]

KEN RITTER, Associated Press Writer
Friday, June 21, 2002
©2002 Associated Press

URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2002/06/21/state2108EDT0170.DTL

(06-21) 18:08 PDT LAS VEGAS (AP) --

The FBI said it would end its investigation of a southern Nevada man's claim that he overheard a conversation about a possible terrorist attack after the man failed a polygraph test Friday.

FBI Special Agent Daron Borst called the investigation "substantially complete," and Michael Hamdan's claim "not credible," after agents spent 41/2 hours questioning Hamdan and administering a lie detector test at the FBI office in Las Vegas.

Hamdan, 54, told The Associated Press that he failed the polygraph test.

"It was not 100 percent," Hamdan said as his wife drove him to their home in suburban Henderson. "They told me everything was OK, but there was some uncertainty about a few things."

Borst declined to discuss the results of the lie-detector test.

Borst said a southern Nevada Joint Terrorism Task Force involving the FBI, CIA, Secret Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Las Vegas police and the U.S. Air Force was continuing to work on the case.

"They'll follow up the remaining leads, but that's it," Borst said.

Hamdan, who was born in Lebanon and speaks Arabic, stuck by story during an interview with The Associated Press after the polygraph test. He had said that last Saturday he intercepted a cell phone call in which a group of Arabic-speaking men said to another man, "We are in the city of corruption, the city of prostitution, the city of gambling, the city of unbelievers."

Hamdan said he believed the men were referring to Las Vegas and that one saying, "we are going to hit them on the day of freedom" meant a terrorist attack was planned for July Fourth.

He said the FBI asked him eight questions, including whether he was telling the truth, whether he was a United States citizen and if he hoped to gain anything by telling his story.

"I told then that no matter what they think, I volunteered, I came to (them) and expressed what I heard because I though that's what I should do as an American citizen," he said.

Earlier on Friday, Hamdan said he understood how people might doubt that among thousands of people in a city of 1.5 million people and thousands of tourists, he overheard 90 seconds of clear conversation in Arabic -- his native language.

Hamdan said he was exhausted after a series of media interviews, little sleep and few meals.

[Tennessee_Bob]

Dang.

My ex-wife is going to Vegas on July 3, and I had such high hopes for the trip.

[mdittmar]

Oh man,wow.

[GOP_Lady]

Well, I'm on my way to Vegas on July 17th!

[Pagey]

It reads like this guy has just dug himself a hole.If you can't pass a Lie detector test when you're telling the truth...and with conviction...Makes me wonder.

[Tennessee_Bob]

She'll be on her way back on the 8th or so. Here's hoping you have a good trip :)

[mystery-ak]

Shame on you.....LOL

[OldFriend]

Well no duh.......the whole story smelled to high heaven. I hope they lock him up for making false statements to the FBI.........

[mdittmar]

Guess the F.B.I. are playing the odds that nothing will happen in Vegas on July 4th,cause if something does their gonna crap out big time.

[LibWhacker]

Hmmmm . . . Seems to me that if the SOB is deliberately spreading misinformation, perhaps to throw the FBI off the trail and cover for al Qaeda's other operations, he should be arrested for being an enemy spy/agent. Shouldn't he?

[Poohbah]

That was my first thought.

Let's review, boys and girls: crosstalk is an rare event. Intelligible crosstalk is rarer still. And the odds of intelligible crosstalk lasting 90 seconds, affecting the phones of TWO Arabic speakers defy credulity.

[Clive]

In my jurisdiction the offence charged would be public mischief.

The problem is that polygraph results are not admissable in evidence.

[TomGuy]

I had some doubts about the guys story. After all, who in their right mind would mess with the casinos in Las Vegas? I've heard rumors that some casinos may have connections to some not-very-nice people, and one doesn't mess with them.

[PoppingSmoke]

Lie detectors test are kust not perfect science. There are so many factors that can screw these machines up it's not funny.

[nightowl]

I saw him on FOX & he certainly seemed credible and not a nut. I believe him & I think the FBI do as well. I certainly will not be in Vegas on the 4th of July.

[DJ_JeremyX]

Well, you realize that polygraph tests are completely worthless. They don't work. That's why they aren't admissable in court. That's why there have been so many spies in various US intelligence and law enforcement agencies, despite the fact they are given polygraph tests from time to time.

[Tanniker Smith]

I'm on my way to Vegas a week after. My wife told me that she didn't want to turn fort..., er thirty-fiv..., er thirty, yeah that's the ticket, in our humdrum town. So I'm taking her to her own personal Mecca. First time there for the both of us. (I've never been west of the Mississippi, personally)

Tanniker

[goodieD]

If polygraphs are so reliable, why aren't they admissable as evidence in court? I sure hope that someone doesn't end up with big egg on their face if LV gets blown to bits.

[goodieD]

congrats to your wife. I'm about to turn..um...cough...21 myself in a coupla weeks...

[Great Dane]

Had a funny feeling about this one, it is possible he was trying to get officials to consentrate on Las Vegas, while his pals were busy somewhere else.