Posted on 07/12/2002 10:03:45 PM PDT by Shermy
MILWAUKEE (AP) Federal authorities have found seven people in Wisconsin suspected of bribing U.S. embassy officials in the Persian Gulf to obtain illegal visas. Six of the seven don't appear to have terrorist ties, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis D. Schmitz.
He said little is known about the seventh person, Ahmad Abed Atia, 23, who had been living in Milwaukee. Atia was uncooperative with investigators and has been transferred to Chicago on a federal visa fraud charge, Schmitz said.
The seven are part of a larger group of foreigners from Jordan, Pakistan, Syria and Bangladesh suspected to have paid at least $10,000 each to an employee at the U.S. Embassy in Qatar between April 2000 and July 2001. Authorities said in exchange they received six-month visas without security screening or U.S. government authorization.
Three of the group are believed to have lived with the Sept. 11 hijackers.
Two of the seven people found in Wisconsin have family ties to the state.
Sammah Essa Batayneh, 23, had been living in Racine and working at her husband's grocery store. She was released on her own recognizance pending further court hearings in Chicago.
Yasser Abdelghani, 33, was working at a gas station in Kenosha. He was released from federal custody and turned over to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.
He could be deported.
His wife and children, ages 4 and 6, also had illegal visas but were not taken into custody, Schmitz said.
The INS picked up another of the seven, a 31-year-old man, in Milwaukee. His name was not released.
He has not been charged, but his case remains under investigation, Schmitz said.
"Those released by the court were found not to be dangerous to society," Schmitz said.
Immigration fraud isn't uncommon, but authorities gave the Qatar bribes special attention after one of the group admitted he had lived in Virginia with two men, Hani Hanjour and Nawaf Alhazmi, who were suspected of hijacking the plane that crashed into the Pentagon.
Two other men suspected of paying for visas at the Qatar embassy also roomed with the hijackers. One of them, Ahmed Ahmad, was in custody, law enforcement officials said.
They did not release the name of the third man, saying he remained at large.
No embassy officials have been charged so far.
Two weeks ago, U.S. marshals in Wisconsin apprehended two Jordanians, Bilal Z. Shihadeh and Mohmud Z. Shehadeh, both 20, accused of entering the country using false Danish passports.
Citizens of western European countries, including Denmark, don't need visas to visit the United States because of international immigration agreements. Passports from those countries are in great demand among people trying to sneak into the United States, authorities said.
Shihadeh and Shehadeh had been living in Milwaukee with a relative who entered the country with a legal Brazilian passport.
Officials in Florida are prosecuting the men's case because they entered the country in that state.
No embassy officials have been charged so far.
So far.
After reading the posts about the visa scam, I noted that one of the smugglers featured on Geraldo's segment on The Pulse about Arabs being moved from Mexico claimed that he had worked in the US Embasey in Cairo for 14 years.
Much of the rot that must be removed from the federal government needs to start at the State Dept. Notice what happened to the National Review reporter today who nailed them on this visa scam in the first place.
Not to mention that it looks like some deoderant would be in order (for the woman on the right) from the horrified look on the woman's face on the left.
MKM
Agreed...but it shouldn't stop there. IRS, Treasury, Federal Reserve, etc. ... full feldged purging of the 'ranks'. Top to bottom. I've willing to tolerate the newbies 'learning curve' versus the seasoned, career lackey's 'expertise'...
Take a gander at this letter to the editor:
Telling photoAlthough it captured only a moment in time, a lot was expressed by Friday's front-page photo of the blonde snarling during a confrontation with a woman in an Islamic head scarf outside the Bush rally.
Isn't that just the epitome of what the problem is with a majority of those who unquestioningly support this administration's actions at home and abroad?
Our freedoms at home are being slowly and alarmingly eroded even as we proceed to kill innocents in Afghanistan in an attempt to get at those responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks.
Americans have a tendency to think of themselves as righteous in all things. I think the expression on the face of the young woman in the head scarf truly expresses the values of free speech and tolerance that really are American.
It's time we stand up for the Bill of Rights instead of taking the rah-rah approach and smothering all thought with flag worship.
-- Robert McManus, Bayport.
What crazy leftist agitprop! How does he know that "the blonde" (boooo! hissss!) "unquestioningly" supports everything Bush does. And clearly the girl is the victimtrying to hold ground but stay away from the agressor. You have some real delusional and sick people up there!
No kidding. What do they do about Visa violations over there? Of course, what decent American would WANT to sneak into any of their countries? They are all trying to sneak OUT. You really can't blame them for that. If I lived there, I would try to get out too!
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