Admitted Terrorist Walks Free (FBI DROPS THE BALL!!!!)

MSNBC ^ | Nov. 12, 2002 | staff

[Alouette]

Defenders: Admitted Terrorist Walks Free

7:55 p.m. EST November 11, 2002 - The International Terrorism Squad is searching for the whereabouts of a Dearborn man who's suspected of providing material support to terrorists, Local 4's Defenders reported.

Fawzi Mustapha Assi is suspected of leading a double life as a hard-working family man, and an admitted terrorist sympathizer, Local 4 reported. Assi lived with his three children at a home on Middlepoint Street in Dearborn. He worked as an engineer at Ford's River Rouge plant in Dearborn. But according to federal investigators, he was also busy assisting terrorists.

FBI agents tapped Assi's work and home phone and discovered he was trying to export millitary goods to Hizbollah, a terrorist organization in Lebanon.

Federal agents followed Assi to the airport in July 1998 and stopped him just as he was about to board a plane to the Middle East, Local 4 reported.

Customs agents seized seven pairs of night-vision goggles, one infrared heat detection device and two global positioning satellite modules, each worth $25,000, according to officials.

One day after Assi was stopped at the airport, agents spotted him dumping several boxes of items into trash Dumpsters in Dearborn, Local 4 reported.

[Alouette]

Freakin' unbelievable.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

oops.

[smokegenerator]

Yes, the Serbs had the same problem. But, they locked up their Albanian Muslim suspects, but UNDER ORDERS from the US, were told to release them back into Kosovo under KFOR protection.

[anniegetyourgun]

"This offense is neither a crime of violence nor does it involve a narcotic drug. It is an offense that involves allegations of support for an international terrorist organization. However, the items that were alleged in the offense do not involve weapons or indications of a crime of violence," said the judge.

Assi was released on $100,000 bond and his father put up his Dearborn home as collateral, vouching that his son would appear back in court. But Assi never returned to the courthouse...."

My emphasis added. Gad, I hate what our judicial system has become.

[Teacher317]

Assi was last seen at a federal court appearance in downtown Detroit. Prosecutors asked the judge to deny Assi's bond, saying he was a flight risk, but the judge disagreed.
"This offense is neither a crime of violence nor does it involve a narcotic drug. It is an offense that involves allegations of support for an international terrorist organization. However, the items that were alleged in the offense do not involve weapons or indications of a crime of violence," said the judge.
The judge and prosecutors would not talk about the case.

Looks like the judge was the one who dropped the ball.

[OldFriend]

Missing something here........the JUDGE freed him, and somehow this is the fault of the FBI.......?

[MindBender26]

They were probably laughing at our stupidity as the Twin Towers fell.

[Teacher317]

You beat me to it! ;^)

[hobbes1]

Agents sifted through the Dumpsters and discovered more night-vision devices, thermal imaging scopes and literature on Israeli Cabinet members with their locations.

Assi was last seen at a federal court appearance in downtown Detroit. Prosecutors asked the judge to deny Assi's bond, saying he was a flight risk, but the judge disagreed.

"This offense is neither a crime of violence nor does it involve a narcotic drug. It is an offense that involves allegations of support for an international terrorist organization. However, the items that were alleged in the offense do not involve weapons or indications of a crime of violence," said the judge.

Wonder if he would have ruled the same way if the guy had been caught with literature on the Judge and the location of his home, and childrens school

[Orangedog]

Customs agents seized seven pairs of night-vision goggles, one infrared heat detection device and two global positioning satellite modules, each worth $25,000, according to officials.

Slightly off topic, but these dollar figures seem inflated, as do most figures that law enforcement (federal, state and local) claim regarding the value of items seized as evidence. I'm a telecom engineer with some experience with GPS equipment that we use to synchronize our network. There is no way that the GPS parts mentioned in the article are worth $25,000 each. When it comes down to it, a GPS receiver is really just a radio that picks up signals from the GPS network similar to how XM receivers pick up digital radio signals.

Even with the inflated prices of GPS receivers that we use on our network, they don't cost anywhere near $25,000. In fact we bought cesium clocks, which are extremely accurate atomic clocks, for that kind of money.

[wita]

The time line is what is missing. From the airport confiscation, to the court appearance, nothing. That does not, however, release this sorry excuse for a judge from his mistake. No, it is about time judges get credit for their success, and get pounded for their mistakes. Judges are human like everyone else, but when they allow something besides human to enter the decision process, they become what has become to be known as "activist judges" and they are worthy of a treason charge, followed by the usual tribunal.

[Orangedog]

Agents sifted through the Dumpsters and discovered more night-vision devices, thermal imaging scopes....

If people around my area were throwing this kind of stuff away, I might be tempted to take up dumpster-diving ;). While these items don't cost what the feds claim they do, this stuff isn't exactly cheap either.

[Aquinasfan]

Fawzi Mustapha Assi

The article doesn't mention his religious persuasion although I have my suspicions...

[rdb3]

The article doesn't mention his religious persuasion although I have my suspicions...

Yeah, me too. Sounds like one of the Hare Krishnas, doesn't he? ;-)

No mercy.
Coming soon: Tha SYNDICATE.
101 things that the Mozilla browser can do that Internet Explorer cannot.

[Dog]

Can you fix the title ...it doesn't say the FBI is to blame .....a judge was the one to free the suspected terrorist.

[knuthom]

Notice how the article only says "the judge"? It never uses his or her name.

[Chad Fairbanks]

NO, but if he had been involved in drugs I.e. narcotics) the judge would have held him for trial - read it again...

Drugs = Zero Tolerance, Terrorist = Not quite as bad...

We seem to have a problem with priorities here...

[4Freedom]

"Freakin' unbelievable."

This is nothing.

Question: What do you call 4 Puerto Rican adults that put on ski masks and hurled 4 Molotov Cocktails at a Navy convoy, on 8/10/01, on the island of Vieques?

Answer: Free!

Last week Wednesday, a Puerto Rican Supreme Court judge released these 4 terrorists, that were caught red-handed, for lack of probable cause.

Now, this is "freakin' unbelievable".

4 Protesters held or allegedly throwing Molotov cocktails at Navy on Vieques

These 4 animals go free and John Walker Lindh will get 20 years for intent?

If he was Puerto Rican, he'd walk.

Hey Saber, think Michelle Malkin would want to investigate how these terrorists got off? Here's a scandalous example of political corruption, if there ever was one.

Who were these 4 terrorists related to?

[per loin]

It names neither the judge, nor the defense attorney, who, I'm sure, argued that his client would not try to escape. The names of both should be publicized.

[Texbob]

The Keystone kops (FBI} are not going to change untill they are all fired and a new organization started.