F.B.I. Says Arson Killed Woman Accused in License Scheme

New York Times ^ | Friday, February 15, 2002

[JohnHuang2]

February 15, 2002

F.B.I. Says Arson Killed Woman Accused in License Scheme

By REUTERS

EMPHIS, Feb. 14 — A deliberately set fire caused the death of a driver's license examiner who had been accused of illegally selling licenses to five Middle Eastern men who were being investigated for possible ties to terrorism, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has said.

Gasoline was poured on the clothing of the examiner, Katherine Smith, before she burned to death on Sunday in an automobile accident, J. Suzanne Nash, an F.B.I. agent, said on Wednesday.

Ms. Smith died one day before she was to have appeared in court with her five co-defendants after being arrested last week on charges of conspiracy to obtain driver's licenses illegally.

In a federal court hearing here on Wednesday, Ms. Nash said an accelerant had been found in Ms. Smith's car, adding that her death was "not an accident."

Investigators have said the gasoline tank of the automobile did not explode. Ms. Nash also said witnesses had reported that the interior of Ms. Smith's car was on fire before the vehicle struck a utility pole, causing just minor damage to the car.

Ms. Nash told the court on Monday that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was looking into whether the five men who were arrested had ties to terrorist groups, citing connections to the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center.

The five men, one of whom said he was a plumber at the trade center and had a visitor's pass to the towers dated Sept. 5, are being held without bond.

A lawyer for one of the defendants has denied that they had any connection to terrorism and said they were seeking documentation to work in the United States.

[Squantos]

The FiBi's need to look at these five A-RAB's reeeeeeeeal hard as she was capped for screwing up something big IMHO.........Potential Targets in TN include Oak Ridge Labs etc etc .

I say screw "how" she was killed and worry about "why" she was killed .......... Threat is high and all I can do is wait and watch, cocked and locked.......damn !

Stay Safe Ern !!

[Cobra64]

You trying to pick a fight?lol

No, not at all. We goof on each other all the time around here. It gets really funny sometimes. This site has more wit and sarcasm than anywhere on the net.

[Squantos]

LOL ! Maybe she was huffing some gold spray paint with her meth :o)

Fire Marshall Bill would be proud !!

Stay Safe !

[weegee]

The Dept of FuBarI needs to take another look at the microbiologist that accidently fell over a reportedly 5 foot high rail on a bridge in Memphis. It was ruled that he did not commit suicide but rather, it was an unfortunate accident.

[Squantos]

Are you saying this is second such suspect death event for Memphis ??.............Uhhh Ohhhh ?!?!?!?

Stay Safe , move to Bali !

[Conservative independent]

Government employees - take notice! Sell-out fellow Americans to terrorists and you will pay the price one way or another. Is it worth a few thousand bucks? Think about it!

[weegee]

The burned car of Katherine Smith sits in a garage at the FBI office Thursday, Feb. 14, 2002, in Memphis, Tenn. Smith, 49, a Tennessee state employee, charged in a scheme with five Middle Eastern men to sell fraudulent Tennessee driver's licenses, died Sunday in a fiery car crash the day before her first court appearance. Her badly burned body was discovered Sunday in a rural Tennessee County. FBI agent J. Suzanne Nash testified Wednesday that witnesses told investigators they "noticed flames from the back seat" before Smith's car struck a pole. The agent added that the gas tank was intact. (AP Photo/Greg Campbell)

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

Fire Marshall Bill would be proud !!

LET ME SHOW YA SOMTHIN!

[freethinkingman]

"Gasoline was poured on the clothing of the examiner, Katherine Smith,before she burned to death on Sunday in an automobile accident"

Sorry but the beginning of this made me spit cola out of my nose..

An accident? Huh, I always try driving with gasoline soaked clothes!

[america-rules]

Several years ago I was an arson investigator and fire in a vehicle doesn't go from the engine area to the passenger area unless it is helped somehow. There are very few exceptions. There is a firewall between the engine compartment and the passenger area that keeps fire away from the passenger area.

An accident where the front of a car hits a tree and catches fire would normally burn only the engine compartment.

Hint..If both areas are burned for some reason it wasn't an accident !

[Inge_CAV]

Thanks for ping weegee.

So, who wanted this woman dead?

#1 James "Wahr" carbilly, and the Little Rock "x42s" mafia? This is in their backyard and ain't nothing gonna happen without their permission.

#2 Jessie "tax-exempt pokechops" jackson and the NAALCP? Ain gon let no Ho mess up our scam.

#3 M.E. "Camel Jocks" types with more fireworks in mind for the sheeple?

This is going to be a tough call and all three of the above are guilty as sin at the start.

[Inge_CAV]

FYI!

[Lion's Cub]

FYI. Also note #27

[Lion's Cub]

This one really p!$$es me off because of its sheer barbarity. Whoever these b@$t@rds are, they are not merely crazy ideologues. Deliberately burning a person alive requires a true sociopath.

[Inge_CAV]

"Deliberately burning a person alive requires a true sociopath."

Yep, Just like "ol Gas-im and Burn-im Reno."

[ABC123]

This was not her first time selling licenses, she just got caught this time. Some of her previous clients must have been worried she would talk to much. The idiots don't believe there are any records for a paper trail. I wouldn't be surprised if the building she worked at is not burned to the ground this weekend.

[GailA]

Later report states her lungs were singed. We also had a sponteanous fire on a RR bridge the other day here in Memphis. Tin Foil Hat maybe?

My question is how high up in the DL's division did this DL selling scheme go? Smith couldn't have been the only one involved, she doesn't look all that bright.

[GailA]

I can guess why it is not playing HOT in Nashville, it's because the demon-rats and taxquist DON'T want the DRATTED law causing all the problems REPEALED! Getting it play in the press would get constiuents to calling for the REPEAL of the assinine law.

[aristeides]

Deliberately burning a person alive requires a true sociopath.

As does beheading people and slitting people's throats.

Note how the NY Times chooses not to tell its readers precisely what the connections are between the arrested Arabs and 9/11.