Two Foreign-Owned Companies Taught Terrorist Pilots in WTC Attacks

Various | October 6, 2001 | Jedediah Smith

[jedediah smith]

This is a continuation of a previous article which exposed the fact that the security for the Logan International Airport was contracted out to two foreign-owned security companies: Securitas in Sweden, and ICTS in the Netherlands. See Two Foreign-Owned Companies Have Airport Security in WTC Attack for details. The following is further evidence which connects the terrorists to European backers, and especially to the Netherlands. One arm of the web of corruption eventually goes back to the Clintons. Some of the following comes from an article by Daniel Hopsicker at http://www.madcowprod.com. The convoluted trail of companies is difficult to follow, and I apologize for not being able to post a flowchart.

Most of the 27 terrorist pilots in the assault were not just trained at, but appear to have been recruited by two pilot schools at a small airport in Venice, Florida. Evidence for this recruitment will be given shortly. It just so happens that the owners of these two companies, Huffman Aviation and Florida Flight Training Center (FFTC), are owned by Dutch nationals, who just bought the two businesses two years ago, only a few months apart. Huffman Aviation is owned by Rudi Dekkers, and FFTC is owned by Arne Kruithof. One of the terrorist pilots, Mohammed Atta, moved from Germany to train at Huffman, and at least four other members of his terrorist cell followed him. Atta and another Hamburg-based terrorist have been connected to a Syrian businessman in Germany, Mamoun Darkazanli, who admitted that, prior to 1995, he worked with bin Laden's alleged financial wizard.

Dekkers was training 400 foreigners per year at both of his flight schools (he has a second one in Naples), which comprised over 80% of his students, and made every effort to recruit foreign students, ostensibly because it is cheaper to train in the US. A Huffman employee, Charlie Voss (a former C-130 pilot) housed the two ringleaders of the cell when they arrived in the US. Voss no longer works for Huffman. A Mr. Dale Kraus, second-in-command at Huffman, also no longer works there.

Dekkers was expanding into other areas. He was co-owner of Ambassador Airways and Aerojet Services with Wally Hilliard, which bought Huffman in May 1999. Dekkers was also CEO of Florida Air Inc. (FLAIR), which began intrastate air flights in cooperation with Harbor Air, Inc. (More on this later.) Both Dekkers and Kruithof expressed big plans for expanding their businesses at the airport. Dekkers said "We have plans to spend $2 million to $3 million in the next two years to boost jets to half our business. Jets bring wealth." Kruithof was building a multi-million dollar hangar, in addition to starting a charter air service. Curiously, all the time Dekkers was engaging in expensive business endeavors, he was about to default on his airport lease to the city of Venice. He was consistently overdue on his rent and failed to file a commercial report required by the state. See the following:
http://www.sun-herald.com/search/search.asp?showarticle=131198
http://www.sun-herald.com/search/search.asp?showarticle=131551
http://www.sun-herald.com/search/search.asp?showarticle=132054
http://www.sun-herald.com/search/search.asp?showarticle=132188
http://www.sun-herald.com/search/search.asp?showarticle=134807

Regarding Kruithof, the vice-president of his FFTC is a European, Pascal Schreier. In addition to these duties, he also was or is the head of the German, Austrian and Switzerland arm of a company called Aviation Aspirations (see http://www.avasp.com/german/contact-local.shtml). Kruithof and Schreier have made every effort to recruit foreigners to their pilot school, and most specifically from the Middle East. The following quotes to recruit foreign representatives prove this:

From http://www.fliegen-in-florida.de/agents/agents.html:
"We are searching for Agents in UK, Benelux, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Finland and more like Saudi Arabia.........Middle East....!"

From http://www.fliegen-in-florida.de/agents/contract.html:
"1. FFTC and agents hereinafter agree that the INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR shall be the sole sales person for _____ (Example: Egypt)"

Ironically, Kruithof publicly expressed disdain for (in his opinion, lax) FAA medical requirements for pilots, saying "If you're not walking on one leg, or you don't have a severe case of heart disease or Parkinson's, you can get a medical in this country. It's ridiculous." [see http://www.newscoast.com/story/Mar-27-2000/wold28.htm] It sounds more like he just wanted healthy terrorist pilots.

His vice-president's affiliation with Aviation Aspirations is very interesting. This Internet company was started in June 1997 and is unique in their services. Their supposed purpose is to help prospective students determine which aviation school is right for them. Aviation Aspirations has a list of recommended flight training schools, and it just so happens that Kruithof's FFTC is on that list (see http://www.avasp.com/world/directory.shtml.) Aviation Aspirations also provides financial assistance and a "Mentor Programme." Please also note that they have "visited and 'inspected'" each school. Quoting from http://www.avasp.com/world/about.shtml"

"And so, with much thought and discussion, our 'Mentor Programme' was born. The concept of this plan is devised to further benefit students in any country. The help is both financial and practical. We now provide one-to-one practical assistance from experienced Professional Pilots (our Mentors) whom we have established throughout the world. We also offer a discount off training costs for students at selected AvAsp Approved ATEs."

According to Hopsicker, "At least 15 of the far-flung network of terrorist pilots got their money from the same (so far-unnamed) source. While in the Venice area last year, the terrorist suspects opened checking accounts during the summer." What role, if any, did Aviation Aspirations and their mentors play in this?

Aviation Aspirations sounds more like a front designed to recruit and assess terrorist pilots. Their organization would provide a perfect opportunity to screen applicants to find good terrorist material, who would then be steered to the appropriate individuals. If an applicant is on the level, they could treat him normally to lend an air of credence to their program. The so-called "mentors" sound more like handlers, whose task is to train the terrorists in the right direction. This could also involve brainwashing/mind control of the terrorists.

Interestingly, the word "assassin" comes from the ancient word "hashshashin" meaning "hemp-eaters." According to Marco Polo, the Persian al-Hassan ("the old man of the mountains") would give hashish to young Muslims and convince them they were in Paradise surrounded by young naked women. He then told them that if they would kill a desired target or be killed in the process, they would return to Paradise.

Aviation Aspirations has no address for their headquarters, so it is impossible to say where they have originated. However, the British spelling of words such as "programme" suggests a British origin and possibly an MI6 front.

Returning to Dekkers and his cohorts, he has some very suspicious connections. Dekkers also co-owns a company called Ambassador Airways (see http://www.sun-herald.com/search/search.asp?showarticle=5444) with a man named Wally Hilliard, which is the company that bought Huffman Aviation. Ambassador Airways also trains pilots (see http://www.ambassador1.com). Coincidentally, their address is 240 Aviation Dr., and another flight school, Naples Air Center, is located at 230 Aviation Dr. and is also one of the schools recommended by Aviation Aspirations.

Wally Hilliard, Dekkers' business partner, is a very interesting individual. He lives in Florida but is originally from Wisconsin (search for "Fly, Wally, Fly" at http://www.goshopfortmyers.com/01/03/perspective/d590312a.htm) where he was a successful businessman who cofounded Employers Health Insurance Co. and American Medical Security (see http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/news/archive/biz_730317.shtml). What's really interesting is that Hilliard, co-owner of the company that recruited and trained middle-eastern terrorist pilots, also sponsored a museum exhibit back in Wisconsin entitled "the Mysteries of Egypt" (see http://www.co.brown.wi.us/Museum/Exhibits/egypt/Egyptmain.htm). This was no small-time, ordinary museum exhibit. It was organized by the Canadian Museum of Civilization, and was one of their most popular exhibitions ever, which included rare 5,000 year old Egyptian artifacts lent by the Royal Ontario Museum and the Montreal Museum of Fine Art. It only appeared in three other US cities. Hilliard's company American Medical Security also made a major donation.

Hilliard is also CEO of Parker Beach Restoration, which just received a contract to restore Destin beach using their Sand Web system, which consists of stringing up nylon webbing to trap sand, at a cost of $1 million per mile of beach. It sounds like a corrupt, expensive, public project. See:
http://www.bonitadailynews.com/01/09/florida/d676738a.htm
http://www.destin.com/news/archives/feb01/sandnets.shtml
http://www.tcpalm.com/archive/d5928.shtml

Returning to Dekkers and his other shady partners, it was mentioned previously that Dekkers' Florida Air venture was in conjunction with Harbor Air. This company is owned by Richard Boehlke, who is connected with organized crime in Portland, Oregon according to Hopsicker (see http://www.madcowprod.com/index.x.html) Boehlke was also involved in looting union pension funds of Laborers International Union of America (LIUNA), the biggest mob-run union in the US and with deep ties to the Clintons through Arthur Coia (see http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3a359f0d4a7d.htm). The Clinton Justice Department signed an unprecedented agreement with LIUNA allowing them to police themselves.

While Harbor Air was going bankrupt, so were two more of Boehlke's companies, Crossings Aviation and Crossings Development. Boehlke had borrowed $17 million for the latter through Capitol Consultants, a pension fund management company accused of overcharging LIUNA for investment fees (see http://209.61.200.134/Oregon_LIUNA_Abbott_7-30-00.htm). The development was worth about $5-7 million (see http://209.61.200.134/Oregon_Capital_10-28-00.htm). Capitol Consultants had lent more than $450 million in investments that "were remarkably unsuccessful" and lost "substantially more" than half the loan assets. Some of their loans went to Alvin Malnik, a reputed mobster said to have a long association with Meyer Lansky (see http://209.61.200.134/Oregon_Pensions_6-24-00.html). Malnik owns Title Loans of America, the nation's largest title-lending chain, which is basically legal loan-sharking.

And even more oddly, according to Hopsicker, Malnik has family ties to a Saudi Arabian prince. This is confirmed by the following excerpt from this newsletter by the "Americans Against the Sauduction of Washington" (http://www.sauduction.com/18issue.html):

"The Palm Beach Post reports: 'Alvin Malnik, the man once regarded as the heir apparent to mobster Meyer Lansky, ... described by federal authorities as a top associate of organized crime figures ... Among his friends, Malnik counts Saudi royalty. His son once married a princess descended from the Middle Eastern kingdom's founding family. ... The sole owner of a Georgia company, Title Loans of America, Malnik runs a national chain of loan stores that make millions of dollars from the interest charged on quick cash offered to people in desperate need of money. ... Attorney General Bob Butterworth [Florida] likens the business to "legalized loan sharking." ... "It was a known fact among the criminal underworld that dealing with Al Malnik was the same as dealing with Meyer Lansky," [said] Vincent Teresa, "a convicted criminal and frequent government witness currently in the federal Witness Protection Program," ...When Lansky died in 1983 at age 81, Reader's Digest named Malnik his "heir apparent." ... "He is not welcome here," James Hurley, the chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission ... "He's done nothing to overcome his reputation of being closely identified with Meyer Lansky and other organized crime figures." ... In 1962, Malnik was listed as a director of the Bank of World Commerce, a Bahamas-based institution that involved "some of the nations' top gangsters," ... In 1978, a Bahamian company named Appolonia Investment Limited paid $3.35 million to buy the property just north of Malnik's Ranch. ... Malnik refuse to divulge Appolonia's owners. But records from the Register General's Office in the Bahamas show the principal shareholder is a Saudi Arabian prince who is a prominent member of the kingdom's royal family and longtime friend of Malnik's. ... Malnik and the prince -- a son of King Abdul Aziz, the founder of modern Saudi Arabia -- once lived in neighboring condos in the Cricket Club. According to news stories in the 1980s, the pair also traveled abroad together. Malnik's son ... would later change his name from Mark to Shareef and marry into the royal Saud family."R158 It is known that the Saudi King would frequently send his private 747 to Florida to pick up Malnik and his associate so they could conduct business on the plane away from prying eyes. We do have a sizable amount of information on Malnik and his Saud family relatives. For instance, we do not know if the children born of the marriage are living in the Saud family palaces as 'royals' or in Miami. Actions speak louder than words. We see time and time again the Saud family speak one way and act another. The Saudi prince whose daughter married a Malnik's son had complete control over his daughter actions. The Saudi prince not only blessed the marriage but works with the US organized crime associates."

And from http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/1998-10-08/feature2.html/printable_page

"So far Pooch has also escaped another danger for any Italian in the entertainment business: being tagged with the m word. 'If your name ends in a vowel then everybody wants to insist you're Mafia,' Pooch complains.

"Still, the rumors persist. One reason: as promoter at the Forge, he works for owner Shareef Malnik, whose father Al Malnik was reputedly an associate of legendary gangster Meyer Lansky. 'I didn't even know about that until after I started promoting at the Forge,' Pooch says. 'But that's not what Shareef is about at all.'"

[jedediah smith]

The Saudi/Malnik/South Florida links are very interesting considering that most of the terrorist pilots were trained in South Florida, and now a newspaper reporter there died of anthrax. Also makes one wonder about all the vote fraud in Bush's election in South Florida.

[Cicero]

Some of this sounds harmless enough, some of it is certainly suspicious. I would be interested to learn more about the two Dutch flight-school owners. Where did they get their money? What do we know about their political views, if any? Some of that kind of thing is accessible to Freeper-type investigation, but probably only a national intelligence organization has the capability of learning the whole truth.

I sure as hell hope the FBI and the CIA are looking into this, among their thousands of other leads. For the past fifty years or so the Netherlands have been a center for pornography, drug-running, and similar activities that would make it a natural center for shady activities. Also many Dutch were infected by the leftist ideologies of the 60s and the Vietnam anti-war movements, which makes them natural America-haters.

[jedediah smith]

The following are the other US flight schools recommeded by Aviation Aspirations. Does anyone know if any other of the terrorists were trained at any of these?

Cirrus Aviation
8191 North Tamiami Trail
Sarasota, FL 34243

International Airline Pilot Training
P.O. Box 11860
Tucson, AZ 85734

Naples Air Center, Inc.
230 Aviation Drive South,
Naples, FL 34104

PhilAir Flight Center, Inc.
1585 Aviation Center Pkwy
Suite 900
Daytona Beach, FL 32114

Lenair Aviation
19531 Campus Drive
Suite 5
Santa Ana, CA 92707

Nice Air, Inc.
2575 Robert Fowler Way
San Jose, CA 95148

The Flight School at Palm Springs
27275 Ventura Dr.
Cathedral City, CA 92234

[jedediah smith]

Yes, some of it sounds innocent enough on the surface, until you start to delve deeper.

[jedediah smith]

FYI.

[jedediah smith]

FYI.

[Yellow Rose of Texas]

Looks good to me!

[mombonn]

. For the past fifty years or so the Netherlands have been a center for pornography, drug-running, and similar activities . . .

including euthanasia, voluntary or otherwise.

[Fred Mertz]

You have compiled a lot of detailed research here, Jedediah. Thanks for flagging me to it. Maybe some of the folks I flagged could add some additional insights.

[thinden]

thanx jed. interesting piece.

[rdavis84]

I believe that the Passions of the Moment are in control right now. We need to review this in the near future. I'll keep it saved.

[freedomnews]

bump

[mancini]

Excellent effort, Jed. You're amazing.

[Betty Jo]

Note the date.

Go see the Michael Jackson - Malnik articles here on FR.

Michael-Malnik-Saudi

[Betty Jo]

Note that this Saudi-Malnik airline-airport thingy has me upset that xtrajet is owned by American Air Network, which, when traced goes down the line to "CARCORP"

A car loan company , which I think is mob connected.

This is of import because of the Michael Jackosn video on plane thing.

If the true owners of xtrajet are indeed mob car loan guys, what the heck?