| Posted on Thu, Jan. 23, 2003 |   |
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FBI agents are investigating whether a Saudi man whose family abandoned their Palm Beach County home within days of the Sept. 11 attacks has links to Muslim groups they suspect helped bankroll that terror plot and others. Three federal sources told The Herald that agents searching the home of Mohamad Almasri were trying to trace possible financial ties to religious charities that authorities charge have secretly supported extremist attacks over the years. ''We're looking to see if there is any connection, financial or otherwise, to any terrorist organization, including the 9/11 hijackers, but it is all very preliminary,'' said a federal investigator familiar with the probe. The sources said agents -- who swarmed the house Tuesday to execute a sealed search warrant -- are looking into a range of possible ties, including whether one of those groups helped buy the home in Greenacres, a town in Palm Beach County. Almasri, 57, who told neighbors he was an engineer, paid $144,500 in cash to buy the new three-bedroom, two-bathroom home in June 2000. Neighbors say he lived half the year in Saudi Arabia and the other half in Greenacres with his wife and several children, including son Turki Ma Almasri, 22, who had been enrolled as a student at a Lantana flight school. Nail Al-jubeir, a spokesman for the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Washington, D.C., said the FBI had not contacted the government about Almasri. He said he had inquired with Saudi authorities but they had no information about Almasri's background or whereabouts and could not confirm whether he was, as he told neighbors, a Saudi citizen. ''Once we're requested to by the FBI, we'll look into it,'' Al-jubeir said. HOME VISITS Agents quietly visited the home several times in recent months but Tuesday night they mounted an all-out search reminiscent of the aftermath of Sept. 11 and revelations that South Florida had been the staging area for the worst terrorist attack in American history. At least 15 of the 19 hijackers had ties to South Florida, included a handful who, like Almasri's son, had trained at area flying schools. Working through the night into Wednesday morning, more than a dozen agents, including some wearing biohazard suits and gloves, searched the home and yard. The case drew national media attention because of the high-profile search that came so long after the terrorist attacks. While agents donned the protective gear as a precaution, FBI spokeswoman Judy Orihuela said the search was not related to the anthrax investigation. That probe began with the death of Sun tabloid photo editor Bob Stevens, who lived within miles of the Almasri home. ''There are no public health issues related to the scene,'' Orihuela said. Agents cordoned off the home, dug holes in the lawn, scanned with metal detectors, hauled off a computer and disks, brought in a large trailer, and removed from the garage a silver Mitsubishi Mirage with a flat tire, which state records show is registered to Turki. EVIDENCE At 4:55 p.m. Wednesday, with the search seemingly close to wrapping up, agents loaded dozen of brown evidence bags, several boxes and three flat portrait-sized containers. Orihuela refused to say what prompted the timing of this week's search, which happened 16 months after the family left town. Most neighbors said Almasri and his family seemed pleasant, sharing details about their son's flight training and even inviting some over for tea. But the quick exit of the clan -- they apparently vacated the home so fast that they left food on tables -- aroused wide suspicions as South Florida's role in the terrorist attack became clear. Several neighbors told newspapers they contacted the FBI not long after the attack. Kristina Daddio saw some family members leave hurriedly on Sept. 9, 2001, when a white minivan pulled into the driveway. The family quickly loaded their suitcases and drove off, she said. ''We were wondering why they were rushing. It was so not in keeping with their normal behavior,'' Daddio said. ``These people are very pristine and proper.'' Days later, Almasri and his oldest son, Turki, also left town. A Yellow Cab driver told FBI agents Wednesday that he drove Turki to Miami International Airport. NEIGHBORS' TIP David Remsen, president of the Fairway Isles Homeowner Association, where the family lived, said the association lawyer contacted the FBI seven months ago ``because of who they were and the circumstances around the time they left.'' Neighbors complained about a badly overgrown lawn. One federal investigator agreed the agents could have moved faster. ''We were doing some checks before. I can't get into it,'' the investigator said. ``Should we have been on it earlier, yes. The fact that the family immediately split should have triggered a quicker response.'' Palm Beach County records show Almasri paid his property taxes on Dec. 5, 2001, by mail, but has not yet paid the 2002 bill for $2,795.91. He last paid his biannual Greenacres garbage bill in April 2001 but is now $154.92 in arrears. Last October, the city filed a lien against the property for $67.75. Employees at Kemper Aviation, a flight training school in Lantana, say that Turki was a Saudi Air flight attendant and flight student for six months. He was issued a student pilot's license in June 2001. ''He was a good student, very respectful,'' she said. ``Nothing stood out as far as a negative attitude.'' Two hijackers rented practice planes at the same Lantana airstrip, but Kemper employees said they never dealt with them. Turki was there on Sept. 11, one employee said, but withdrew a week later without completing his training. Herald staff writers Alfonso Chardy and David Kidwell contributed to this report. |
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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/states/florida/counties/broward_county/5009677..htm