Mon, Aug. 15, 2005
Chicago man admits giving FBI bogus terrorism tips
Associated Press
http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/12391038.htm
CHICAGO - A Chicago man admitted Monday that he falsely told federal
agents his relatives were linked to Osama Bin Laden's terrorist network
and plotted to blow up the Sears Tower and other landmarks.
Abdul Rauf Noormohamed pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of
making false statements to federal agents and now faces up to five
years in prison.
A phone message left with Noormohamed's attorney Monday was not
immediately returned.
When Noormohamed was arrested, FBI agents said he named five relatives
and two others as members of bin Laden's al-Qaida network and the
Islamic Jihad terrorist organization because he had been quarreling with
them.
Authorities say Noormohamed made 10 phone calls to state and federal
officials between Dec. 12, 2003 and Jan. 5, 2004. The first call was to
the Illinois deputy governor's office. Other calls went to the
Department of Homeland Security and the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection.
During the calls, Noormohamed falsely told authorities the "terrorists"
were planning to detonate bombs to blow up the Sears Tower, Soldier
Field, City Hall, O'Hare International Airport and the Lake Point Tower
apartments.
Authorities said members of an FBI-led terrorism task force spent
hundreds of hours investigating the accusations.
Noormohamed was arrested in January of 2004 at O'Hare while preparing
to board a plane bound for Egypt.
You've got freepmail, Granny.