Posted on 11/08/2001 8:14:41 AM PST by Clovis_Skeptic
Sorry, no transcript as of now. Video only. Worth the effort to view.
The video provides a look at this compound in the foothills above Fresno, CA. Pre 9-11, a Fresn County Sheriffs deputy was killed by a member of this peaceful Islamic community. The suspect (in the beginning trial phase still) broke into a empty nearby foothill home, when deputies arrived this guy was lying in the hallway floor with a rifle, and killed one deputy. This video is the first investigative reporting we have had on this Islamic community. The trail leads to FUQRA, a known terrorist group operating all over the world, and have several communities such as this one all over the USA. Here is an excerpt from an article of the Sacramento Bee...
(Published Sept. 30, 2001)
There is no evidence that the Fresno group has been involved in any terrorist activities, officials say.
The group, according to a federal source, is part of Fuqra, an organization whose name means "poverty" in Arabic and which has had compounds in several U.S. areas.
Some Fuqra members in other areas have been implicated in past years in domestic terrorist attacks, and the State Department has labeled the group, known formally as Jamaat ul-Fuqra, as "an Islamic sect that seeks to purify Islam through violence."
The group south of Fresno operates an 1,800-acre compound called the International Quranic Open University, which sits on the former site of the drug addiction recovery cult Synanon.
The compound, a series of mobile homes shaded by trees, also serves as a U-Haul rentals location. A resident there last week refused to talk to a reporter, referring inquiries to a Visalia attorney who did not respond to a message seeking information.
Authorities have been studying the compound since the Aug. 21 slaying of Fresno County Sheriff's Deputy Erik Telen. Officials charged 20-year-old Ramadan Abdur-Rauf Abdullah with murder in the killing, apparently stemming from a botched burglary at a rural home.
James Oppliger, Fresno County's chief deputy district attorney, said the suspect claimed he had been living at the compound seeking psychiatric treatment from the Quranic university.
Oppliger said he since has begun studying the group and its possible connections to other organizations.
(Zavia Books) is the bookstore for this Islamic compound. It is called Koranic Open University. Note the books being sold. One of them is prefaced by ( Sheik Mubarik Ali Shah Jilani [Gilani]) a known terrorist. The trail leads from Baladullah (actually Miramonte, CA) to Pakistan, where Sheik Gilani lives. He is the head of Fuqra.
So the military can conduct bombing practice without flying all the way to Puerto Rico.
Outbursts mark accused killer's hearing 20-year-old man charged in
deputy's death makes explicit remarks, interrupts judge.
By Michael Baker
The Fresno Bee
(Published Friday, December, 14, 2001 5:55AM)
Shaking and gasping, the man accused of murdering a sheriff's deputy repeatedly interrupted a judge, sometimes with sexually explicit outbursts, Thursday in a Fresno County courtroom. "I want O.J. ... his attorney," 20-year-old Ramadan Abdur-Rauf Abdullah yelled, interrupting Judge Debra J. Kazanjian.
"You need to keep your mouth shut," Kazanjian retorted.
Moments later,
"You're going to have something else controlled if you're not quiet," Kazanjian responded.
Abdullah is accused of murdering deputy Erik Telen at a rural home in Dunlap on Aug. 21. The 26-year-old deputy had been investigating a break-in.
Abdullah's demeanor Thursday was in stark contrast to how he acted at his previous court hearing. On Oct. 25, Abdullah was declared mute by his attorney, who said his client had not communicated with anyone in weeks.
Thursday, Abdullah communicated plenty, although it was often nonsensical. The scheduled action was a preliminary hearing, but attorneys agreed to continue the matter until Jan. 24 so that several reports could be reviewed.
"I object, your honor," Abdullah interjected when he heard the plans.
"You're not going to interrupt me. Do you understand that?" Kazanjian said.
"Your honor, I have a question."
"You're not going to interrupt me."
"I don't want to continue," he finished.
Telen's family exited out of the back of the courtroom and did not talk with reporters. Prosecutor Dennis Peterson also did not comment.
Defense attorney Jim Lambe said Abdullah's outbursts are indicative of his mental instability.
"We hope to get to the bottom of it soon," he said, adding that a psychiatrist is scheduled to evaluate Abdullah before the next court date.
Lambe said evidence was unsealed Thursday that indicates Abdullah had mental problems before shooting and killing Telen.
In a June 29 resignation letter handed in before he quit a job as a telemarketer in New York, Lambe said, Abdullah wrote: "There are [two] many witches, warlocks and homosexuals working here."
Lambe said he has serious doubts about his client's competency to understand and aid in his own defense. Such an issue could prevent his trial until doctors declare him competent.
The reporter can be reached at mbaker@fresnobee.com or 441-6295
Current Ca law does not address this issue. That is why after Kevin Quinn's investigation discovered the charter school, Gateway Academy, Assemblyman Mike Briggs began drafting legislation to eliminate "satellite" locations. Fresno County Sup of Schools, did not even know this school was there. Gateway Academy, registered location is an old downtown Fresno address. Quinn's investigation revealed they have satellite locations in Baladullah, Oakland, Sunnyvale, and Pamona.
I dont know where this legislation is, I am sure it will never see the light of day, Briggs is a rep, and the Ca congress is demorat controlled.
When I read about behavior like this, I keep remember what a conservative Pysc. told me over two decades ago.
That thanks to the ACLU and the left wing Pysc.s they have perverted the whole insanity issue.
His premise was that only insane people murder other people. The job of the Pyscs. would be simple prove that the perps were insane. They would be guilty of murder by being insane. Then, they should get the death penalty to make sure they never acted as an insane person again to murder!
Needless to say he was never asked by an ACLU lawyer to be an expert witness for the defense at a murder trial! He, also, said that all ACLU lawyers were insane and should be locked up for their life span to protect society!
Sheriff's Department
County Civic Center
2404 West Burrel Avenue
Visalia, California
93291-4580
Phone (559) 733-6218
FAX (559) 733-2756
Bill Wittman Sheriff - Coroner
David Whaley Assistant Sheriff,
DetentionsJanet Hinesly Assistant Sheriff, Operations
Captains& Branches
David Williams Investigations/Operations
Larry McLaughlin Detentions - Administration/Court ServicesGary Harris Detentions - Operations
Mike Gutsch Administration
For further branch information please contact: (559) 733-6233
The fastest-growing network of charter schools in California may lose its charter status if financial data and an operational breakdown aren't given up soon.
Fresno Unified School District has asked that the locally based Gateway Academy hand over half of that information by Friday.
Gateway Superintendent Khadijah Ghafur says her academy already has given information to Fresno Unified several times over the past few months but will comply with the latest request.
If Gateway doesn't meet the deadline Friday, Fresno Unified says it will get another shot Jan. 4. If substantial information isn't provided by then, district leaders say they will ask the school board to yank the charter and dismantle the network that grew to 14 sites around the state.
Gateway has attracted widespread attention the past month, including that of the state's chief educator who issued a letter this week asking Fresno Unified to investigate allegations of religion being taught at some sites. (this would be Baladullah)
California Superintendent of Schools Delaine Eastin sent Fresno Unified a letter Tuesday asking leaders also to look into whether some of the sites are taking student tuition, a violation of the education law.
Ghafur says there are no sites under the charter accepting tuition and that none has religious tones, something that she says is suggested because one of the sites is in an Islamic compound east of Fresno.
She contends all of this is a misunderstanding that will be resolved soon and, when it is, community members likely will open their wallets to the charter school that prides itself on student enrichment.
"A lot of the issues coming out are even surprising to me," Ghafur said. "I don't know what the issues are, but I think we're under mass attack. It feels like we've been hit by a boulder."
The problems began this fall with a series of requests by Fresno Unified for Gateway's operational makeup and an itemized breakdown of how its money was spent in the 2000-01 school year.
The operational breakdown must include permits for each of the charter's sites, the number of teachers and proof those teachers have California credentials, said Marilyn Shepherd, who oversees Fresno Unified's charter schools department.
But the biggest red flag is money. The district wants to know, among other things, student enrollment and how Gateway used state and federal funding.
Most important, Fresno Unified wants to know how Gateway fell $1.3 million into debt a year after opening its doors to its first students in September 2000.
Fresno Unified has asked for the specific information countless times, said Jill Marmolejo, district spokeswoman. Officials received some information, but not entirely what they sought.
Because of Gateway's issues, Assembly Member Mike Briggs, R-Clovis, will propose a bill to allow charter schools only in the same counties as the districts that chartered them.
"I am very much in favor of charter schools," Briggs said. "But concerns have been raised about whether a charter school should be located outside a county where it is chartered."
Briggs plans to hold hearings on the issue to learn about the experiences of different districts.
"If we find the system is just fine, so be it, but I think it deserves some serious review," Briggs said.
Gateway started 12 years ago when several Fresno parents got together to pinpoint ways to improve education for students who weren't attending schools or whose educational needs weren't being met, Ghafur said.
They collaborated for nearly a decade, finding start-up money, mapping out plans and eventually getting charter approval from Fresno Unified in 1998.
Under the charter, Gateway can open several satellite campuses "in order to reach out to migrant students," the charter document says.
It opened in September 2000 with three local sites and about 242 students. But Ghafur says, once word spread about its mission, they began getting bombarded with requests.
They started opening satellite campuses across the state. At its peak, Gateway had 14 sites between the Bay Area and Southern California. It now has 11.
Ghafur said Gateway grew too fast to keep pace with its revenue, so it was forced to seek loans and accept private donations.
Delta Public Finance, a Sacramento-based company that assists charter schools in financing, issued two loans to Gateway Academy this year -- the first for $900,000 and then $630,000 in October.
The district says it has no idea how the money was used because an audit of Gateway's expenditures has not met district deadlines.
In recent weeks, Gateway sought a $150,000 loan from Fresno Unified to pay for expenses, but the district has refused.
"We are not in a position financially to give away money. We are struggling ourselves," Marmolejo said.
In earlier interviews, Karl Yoder, principal with Delta Public Finance, said Gateway paid back the $900,000 loan, and he was confident the school would pay its $630,000 loan.
The reporters can be reached at eolvera@fresnobee.com, mbenjamin@fresnobee.com or 441-6330.
While GateWay Academy officials deny any impropriety and law enforcement officials aren't saying much, letters and interviews reveal the Fresno Police Department, Fresno County Sheriff's Department and the FBI are looking into the charter school. The probes, in part, apparently focus on GateWay's spending, school sites and its parent corporation.
Khadijah Ghafur, GateWay's superintendent and a founder of its nonprofit parent Heritage Development Corp., says it all is a "misunderstanding."
She believes the spotlight on GateWay is prompted by fears and rumors about Muslims following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Problems worsened once word spread that one campus is located within a Muslim community in the Tulare County foothills about 60 miles east of Fresno.
Says Ghafur: "What's happened is that 9/11 changed all of our lives, and no one knows how to have relationships with anyone anymore. It made everyone afraid of one another."
In addition to the law enforcement investigations, education officials are questioning the operational and financial condition of GateWay -- the state's fastest-growing charter school. For example:
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin is threatening to cut off funding if GateWay can't answer allegations that some satellite sites are teaching religion or charging tuition, or were converted from private schools. Ghafur says some sites recently were "purged" but declined to elaborate.
The Fresno Unified School District, which granted the GateWay charter, is examining the allegations and school finances. GateWay officials have until Friday to submit an itemized account of 2000-01 spending and explain its $1.3 million debt, or the district board may yank its charter.
Educators are lobbying to close loopholes that allow charter schools to open satellite sites outside their home county. This is mainly in response to GateWay, which had operated as many as 14 satellite sites from the Bay Area to Southern California.
Beyond educational circles, letters and interviews confirm the existence of several law enforcement probes. In a November letter to Fresno Unified, the Sheriff's Department requested a long list of documents -- on matters from personnel to financial information -- about the charter school.
The letter came from the Special Investigations Division, a unit responsible for intelligence-gathering as well as investigations into major narcotics operations and vice. Sheriff Richard Pierce declined comment.
Fresno Unified documents also show interest by the Fresno Police Department. GateWay's district offices are in Fresno, and it also operates four sites within the city.
Lt. Dwayne Johnson of the Special Investigations Bureau says the probe is in its infancy. Johnson says the department is awaiting documents from the district, adding: "At this point there is nothing proven at all."
Fresno Unified officials also confirm that they have been contacted by the FBI. A spokesman for the FBI says the agency does not comment on whether it is involved in an investigation.
County Schools Superintendent Pete Mehas says he has been approached by law enforcement but would not elaborate. In a letter to Eastin, Mehas wrote:
"While the law enforcement officers were cautious in the information they disclosed to me, it was apparent that they had developed substantial evidence of possible financial improprieties if not by the charter school itself, then certainly by the parent organization."
But GateWay Superintendent Ghafur says the charter school is simply experiencing typical growing pains and money pangs associated with starting a school. State charter development experts also say it is not uncommon for new schools to borrow heavily.
Ghafur says all the information about the school has been open to Fresno Unified and that GateWay will comply with district requests for more.
When the community realizes that "Gateway does a lot with little money, they'll likely set up donation boxes around town" to further the mission of student enrichment and empowerment, she says.
Founding of charters
That mission started more than a decade ago after a group of parents banded together to figure out how to improve education for students who weren't in school or whose educational needs weren't being met.
Heritage Development was formed in 1996. In articles of incorporation filed with the state, Heritage states in part that its purpose is to provide education and social services to students and their families.
Under the GateWay name in 1998, the corporation asked Fresno Unified to grant a charter for a school and satellite sites. That was about five years after the state Legislature approved the charter concept.
Charter schools are independent campuses established by parents, teachers or others interested in alternative forms of education. They are exempt from many bureaucratic rules, and that freedom is expected to encourage new approaches. But charter schools must abide by some state laws, such as those that require regular academic testing and prohibit religious-based teaching.
Like other public schools, charter schools are paid by the state largely based on enrollment. The charter essentially is a contract with a school district that outlines goals and procedures.
Approving the charter
Fresno Unified struggled with GateWay's request, mainly because a school voucher proponent was listed on Heritage's board of directors. But ultimately, the charter was approved on a 4-3 vote.
The district's paper trail shows GateWay opened with three sites and about 242 students in September 2000. By November 2001, GateWay had grown to about 1,000 students in 14 sites between Sunnyvale and Pomona.
During that time, the district dealt with one formal local complaint about GateWay. Tomas Gonzalez, who ran Gateway's Oscar Romero Learning Center in Fresno, complained last summer about cash flow.
Gonzalez told the district that GateWay returned about 22% of the money he believed was generated by the school's enrollment. GateWay officials say they offered him a contract similar to one accepted by leaders at other sites. The contract included a 50-50 split of state enrollment reimbursements, but Gonzalez declined and said he needed more money to operate.
Eventually, GateWay officials say they paid several staff salaries and offered to cover materials used by students. Fresno Unified accepted the explanation, largely because there is no requirement that all enrollment money flow back to the site where it was produced, district officials said.
Gonzalez says his school now runs under another Fresno Unified charter. Today, GateWay has 11 sites and about 620 students.
But historically, Fresno Unified has had trouble tracking sites because they have popped up in far-away cities, says Marilyn Shepherd, who oversees the district's charter schools department.
District documents show that several sites seem to have changed names, addresses or moved from one city to another during the past year. Says Fresno Unified board president Mike O'Hare: "It became a logistical nightmare for the school district to keep up with them and their expansion. We don't have the time and the personnel for it."
But in hindsight, board member Ray Baker says, the district probably could have tried to control the growth and better manage remote sites. Ghafur believes some problems may be related to the relative youth of the charter law and district inexperience.
Joe Lucente, president of California Network of Educational Charters board of directors, says planning can limit problems. For example, districts can require charter schools to tell them of new sites by writing that into the contract.
"If they do a good job in the chartering process, they can eliminate 90% of the problems," Lucente says. "The rest can be taken care of with good oversight."
Ghafur traces GateWay's fast growth to interest in its mission. She says news about the school spread by word-of-mouth and that GateWay was flooded with admission requests. That drove explosive growth and the need for loans.
California charter school experts say loans are common for new schools because little state cash is available for start-up necessities such as buildings or equipment.
Eric Premack is co-director of the Charter School Development Center at California State University, Sacramento. He says: "It's not uncommon for charter schools to borrow and to sometimes borrow very heavily."
And, "for schools starting up or rapidly expanding, they generally have huge cash flow problems."
Premack says GateWay officials attended center workshops on charter school development. He says the center spends a substantial amount of time on finance.
State records show that GateWay applied for and received a $250,000 start-up loan. While GateWay applied in July 2000, state education officials say its paperwork trickled in slowly. The loan was granted in May 2001.
Money is a key element in Fresno Unified's inquiry. Charter school manager Shepherd says the district has asked for a complete rundown of financial documents for the past school year.
In part, officials are interested in GateWay's September request for a $630,000 loan from a Sacramento investment firm. That firm, Delta Public Finance, had doled out $900,000 to GateWay a few months earlier. Delta granted the $630,000 loan in October, Shepherd says.
In mid-September, GateWay presented unaudited budget figures to the district that showed a debt of $1.3 million.
District staff saw a few red flags in those numbers, including the more than $806,000 used by GateWay for capital outlay, which usually includes items such as desks and chairs. The amount is considered high for a school of that size, says Fresno Unified's spokeswoman Jill Marmolejo.
GateWay's annual report for 2000-01 shows three property purchases: space on West Dakota Avenue, its main campus; an office complex on West Shields Avenue, which contains a small learning center and administrative offices; and a duplex on East Clinton Avenue, used by out-of-town staff members for GateWay business. Purchase prices were not noted.
The report repeatedly mentions money as a roadblock to achieving GateWay goals. But officials sketched ambitious plans for 2001-02: estimated student enrollment of 1,450 and annual revenue of $7.35 million, compared to $6.37 million in expenses. That caught Fresno Unified's attention.
Awaiting audit report
District leaders are reviewing operational documents and awaiting GateWay's audited financial report. If complete information isn't provided by Friday, Shepherd will ask the district's board to terminate the charter.
Information already provided to Fresno Unified includes a list of trustees and the annual report. The board includes Ghafur; Kehinde Solwazi, an instructor at Fresno City College; and Doug Hurt, an attorney in Visalia.
GateWay's annual report paints a picture of 2000-01. In part, school officials say they have created a caring and respectful learning atmosphere, incorporated a structured curriculum tailored for student needs and established fine arts and foreign language programs.
A student exchange program also is in the works, and six students were sent to the International Scholarship and Athletic Games in New York. Board members traveled to South Africa to establish an operating process for the exchange program.
GateWay also provided an updated list of sites. The Bee attempted to contact officials at all 11 campuses last week. One telephone number was disconnected, two officials declined comment and six others didn't return calls. GateWay administrator Naazim Hamed also did not return calls.
Two site officials did speak to The Bee. An official who runs the foothill charter site says the school has about 60 students drawn from the community. The school is open to kindergarten through 12th-grade students.
The Emmanuel Learning Center is near downtown Fresno. Michael Black, a teacher at the campus with about 54 students, says Emmanuel began in 1992 as a private Christian school.
It ran as a Christian school until GateWay approached Emmanuel leaders and took it over in 2000, he says. Under state law, it's illegal for a private school to convert to a charter school. Fresno Unified has yet to look into the issue.
Black says the campus has been running smoothly, and stopped teaching with religious overtones when it linked with GateWay. He said neither scripture nor holy books are used.
Some complaints
Fresno Unified officials say they have visited local sites and have not detected any obvious problems. But there have been complaints -- such as religious-based teaching -- about remote sites.
According to Shepherd, Ghafur was told in early December that the Silicon Valley Academy in Sunnyvale was teaching the Quran and calling itself a religious school. The academy had been a part of GateWay's network since August.
Ghafur and administrators quickly severed ties to the Sunnyvale academy and told the district that any enrollment money generated by the site during that time would be refunded, Shepherd says.
Two other sites also were "purged" from GateWay, Ghafur says. She would not elaborate, saying only that they likely didn't comply with GateWay's goals or couldn't be supported financially.
Ghafur says no school sites teach religion.
The flap over the Sunnyvale site helped spark the interest of state Schools Chief Eastin, who asked Fresno Unified to investigate various allegations of wrongdoing.
"We're prepared to withhold their February apportionment if [the district] tells us that this is true because we don't send good money after bad," Eastin said in a telephone interview.
State officials say GateWay received roughly $1.1 million last academic year based on average enrollment of 265 students. It has received about $672,900 so far this academic year.
Ghafur thinks the negative attention springs from rumors about Baladullah ("City of the Creator"). Focus was drawn to the community in August, when a man who had briefly lived there was arrested and charged with shooting Fresno County sheriff's deputy Erik Telen about 10 miles from the property.
GateWay's parent organization, Heritage Development, is listed as owner of at least part of the property. More speculation surfaced when word spread after Sept. 11 that a GateWay site was located in the community.
Tulare County sheriff's Capt. Mike Gutsch says the village has not been a problem and characterized the department's relationship with Baladullah as positive and cooperative. He says he is not aware of any sheriff's investigation involving the community.
While Ghafur has doubts about motives, Fresno Unified officials insist their inquiry is prompted by legitimate concern. Board Member Bill Riddlesprigger, who teaches at Fresno City College, says he was approached by GateWay board member Solwazi and asked to ensure that GateWay wasn't being treated unfairly because some members are Muslim.
GateWay's annual report says about 44% of its students are African-American. Roughly a quarter are Hispanic and 25% are Asian-American.
Riddlesprigger says he assured Solwazi -- who did not return telephone calls from The Bee -- that there is no racial or religious bias behind the questions. He adds that he has talked to several parents of GateWay students who praise the education their children are receiving.
Riddlesprigger also says all 10 charter schools overseen by Fresno Unified have been asked to produce the same documents.
Two others -- Renaissance Charter School and Fresno Prep Academy -- have not fully complied. They also have until Friday to produce all documents or risk losing charter status.
Meanwhile, legislators such as Assembly Member Mike Briggs, R-Clovis, want hearings on the charter issue. Mehas is pushing for authority to conduct charter school financial audits and to limit satellites to the charter's home county.
Mehas, who supports the charter concept, says: "There are some loopholes that, in the rush to have charter schools, they [legislators] didn't close."
California has about 120,000 students in an estimated 360 charter schools. Eastin, also a fan of charters, says of the system: "On the whole, I think it is working well. But I do believe that there are some downside risks to having this kind of wide-open system for spinning off additional charters.
"I don't think that is a good idea, and I do think that stronger accounting for the public dollars is something we should have."
The reporters can be reached at eolvera@fresnobee.com, cfontana@fresnobee.com or 441-6330.
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