More on Alanssi - damaged NY case.
N.Y. Terror Case Hurt By Man Who Set Himself Afire At White House
UPDATED: 5:32 pm EST November 16, 2004
NEW YORK -- The prosecution of a sheik accused of funneling millions of dollars to al-Qaida was roiled Tuesday by news that a man who set himself on fire in front of the White House was a key witness in the case.
Defense attorneys said Mohamed Alanssi is a confidential informant central to the prosecution of Sheik Ali Hassan al-Moayad, whom U.S. authorities consider their biggest catch to date in a campaign to cut off funding for terrorists.
Al-Moayad, a leading member of an Islamic-oriented political party in Yemen, was extradited from Germany last year and is awaiting trial in federal court in Brooklyn. He and his assistant allegedly conspired to provide material support to Osama bin Laden and the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas......
http://www.wnbc.com/news/3923760/detail.html
Probe: Iraq U.N. cash sent to bombers' kin
11/16/2004, 6:28 p.m. ET
By DESMOND BUTLER
The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Saddam Hussein diverted money from the U.N. oil-for-food program to pay millions of dollars to families of Palestinian suicide bombers who carried out attacks on Israel, say congressional investigators who uncovered evidence of the money trail.
The former Iraqi president tapped secret bank accounts in Jordan — where he collected bribes from foreign companies and individuals doing illicit business under the humanitarian program — to reward the families up to $25,000 each, investigators told The Associated Press......
http://www.nj.com/newsflash/national/index.ssf?/base/national-33/110064626159520.xml&storylist=national