Feds Raid Boston Area Computer Firm Suspected of Links to Al Qaeda

ABC News ^ | 12-6-02 | Brian Ross

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Dec. 6 — Federal agents have raided a Boston-area computer software firm looking for evidence that the company, which does business with key government agencies including the FBI, might have links to Osama bin Laden's terror network.

The Quincy, Mass., firm, Ptech, makes software and is allegedly secretly owned by Qassin al-Kadi, one of 12 Saudi businessmen accused of funneling millions of dollars to al Qaeda. U.S. government investigators told ABCNEWS' chief investigative correspondent Brian Ross that there are fears al Qaeda may have had access to some of the government's most closely held secrets through the company, which provided computer software for the FBI, the Navy, the Air Force and the agency that handles nuclear weapons security.

Just before midnight Thursday, in a driving snowstorm that blanketed the East Coast, a team of U.S. Customs agents raided the firm's Quincy offices.

The raid was the culmination of a top-secret investigation coordinated with the White House amid concerns that the company was secretly owned and controlled by al Qaeda activists or sympathizers.

The agents brought their own computers with them to download files from the firm's computers.

Agents could be seen inside the Ptech headquarters, searching the offices and going through the company's computers.

The company's Web site reveals a list of customers that is a who's-who of sensitive government agencies, including the Naval Air Systems Command, NATO, the House of Representatives and the Department of Energy, which handles security for nuclear weapons and material.

Looking for a ‘Back Door’

Officials believe Ptech is linked to one of bin Laden's alleged money men, a Saudi multi-millionaire named Qassin al-Kadi.

Al-Kadi has repeatedly denied any connection to bin Laden, but he is on the U.S. government's so-called "dirty dozen" list of leading terror financiers who are being investigated by the CIA, and his accounts have been frozen by the United States.

In an interview last year with ABCNEWS' John Miller, al-Kadi denied sending any money to bin Laden. "To hear such an accusation had been put on myself, this is a complete mistake, a big one," he said.

American officials say al-Kadi and the other businessmen on the CIA list all have business and personal connections to the Saudi royal family.

The Customs investigation has been given the highest priority inside the goverment and for the last few weeks, government agencies have quietly been searching their computer software to see if there are any hidden bugs or "back doors" that would make it easy for terrorist hackers to break in.

[cynwoody]

CertCode	EmpName	EmpEIN	WageRateFrom	RatePer	BeginDate	NumImmigrants	JobTitle	WorkState_1	PrevWage_1	PrevWagePer_1	WageSource_1	OtherWageSource	DetDate
C	PTECH INC	043223676	104000.00	Y	10/5/01	001	VP PROFESSIONAL SERVICES	MA	89565.00	Y	O	OES SOC WAGE DATA SURVEY	10/2/01
C	PTECH INC	043223676	104000.00	Y	10/5/01	001	VP PROFESSIONAL SERVICES	MA	89565.00	Y	O	OES SOC WAGE DATA SURVEY	10/11/01

From the company's web site:

Joseph Johnson, Vice President of Professional Services, comes to Ptech with over 15 years of professional experience and will be managing the overall delivery of professional services, including consulting and training to Ptech clients and partners. Prior to joining Ptech, Mr. Johnson was a partner at Arthur D. Little responsible for the North American Management Consulting Practice and was Vice President in charge of professional services and knowledge management domains for Cayenta, Inc., an enterprise application software and services subsidiary of Titan Corporation, where he grew the practice by 300% in less than 12 months. Prior to joining Cayenta, Mr. Johnson was the Chief Operating/People Officer at Breakaway Solutions, where he grew the company from 150 employees to well over 1,000, participated in managing its IPO (resulting in achievement of NASDAQ's top 10 in 1999), directed its $225M acquisition of Eggrock Partners, and developed the Breakaway Venture Capital fund. Mr. Johnson has also held executive positions at Cambridge Technology Partners, KPMG, worked as an investment banker at Lehman Brothers Kuhn Loeb. During his career, he has served as board level advisor to three of the Fortune 50 corporations. Mr. Johnson holds a BA in English from Holy Cross College and graduated as a Fulbright Scholar from the Edinburgh Business School.

So, from what country does Mr Johnson hail? Hmmm, Holy Cross, not Holy Crescent. Fulbright scholar ...

If this deal comes up empty, then the government will have screwed a bunch of ordinary Americans. I mean, who's going to deal with this outfit after this publicity? Better get those resumes posted!

BTW, neat website you found there, FormerLurker.

[Minutemen]

China has got their hands all the way down our pants in spite of having a Republican administration.

[staylowandkeepmoving]

These stormtroopers who are often times incompetent, corrupt, or both, and can't be trusted to serve a search warrant on an individual in a drug case.

I would suggest that all of us should hesitate to take anything the government agents say at face value -- especially when the topic is complicated (e.g., financial crimes).

[swarthyguy]

it never hurts to be too paranoid.

So what triggered the raid on a snowy night? Why NOW if it's been a year long investigation?

[SICEO]

Folks. I think it's worse than this. I copied their entire website this morning and found a presentation for their Military Information Architecture Accelerator (MIAA). Besides all the clients mentioned in earlier posts (and shown in slide two of their MIAA PowerPoint presentation), here's a customer and partner list from pg 23 that presentation:

JCAPS Program
MITRE
US Air Force ATCALS Program
HQ US Naval Security Group Command
US Dept of the Treasury
Defence Science and Technology Organisation (Australia)
Defense Science and Technology Agency (Singapore)
Korean Air Force
Defence Research Centre (South Africa)
ARMSCOR (South Africa)
ROKAF
South Korea Department of Defense
Hansolter Korea Solutions Center
Meta Business Metrics (South Africa)
Booz-Allen & Hamilton
US Systems Integration contractors (under NDA)

Several news stories have a spokesman saying they're just a little software company.---Really???

As you look through the PowerPoint, you may notice that the "Full Ptech Solution" includes Internet (WWW) access. Those of you who know technology may also be interested in the OS required on pg. 10 of the presentation.

For a real eye-opener, take a close look at the examples in the presentation starting with slide 36. Desert Storm????

The link to their MIAA product is:
http://www.ptechinc.com/01/sub/miaa/index.asp

The link to the Powerpoint presentation is:
http://www.ptechinc.com/01/sub/miaa/assets/docs/MIAAOverview.ppt

SICEO

[philman_36]

And more pieces of the puzzle fall into place. Let's not forget the ease with which minority owned businesses have been given fast track approval for government contracts and who authorized that easy access.

[JasonC]

That would be the plutonium inventory from which scads of material was reported as missing and unaccounted for, in the last couple of years...

[swarthyguy]

This ain't just the Camel's nose under the tent. He's moved in.

[JasonC]

The most likely thing would be some evidence of a leak of info that was compartmentalized enough on our end they were able to trace it. That is, the NSA listens to the Saudis or Iraqis or whoever talking about what they know. They notice that the bad guys know items of information X and Y, that were tightly held secrets over here. Look for the intersection of knowledge of X and knowledge of Y, common factors, track how they found it out. So the "why now" could be, they just heard something that pointed the finger at Ptech. As for what things are being discussed that might be involved, it is easy enough to run through the prominent current headlines and speculate, but it would obviously just be speculation. Or, they could hold off because they are still listening and don't want to let the bad guys know we know - until now. The Iraqi deadline on their report just passed, for example.

[Betty Jo]

http://www.FreeRepublic.com/forum/a3bb0581b79fd.htm

this is the link to the article about

"Bin Ladens Own Stake In Mass Biomedical Firm"

It's Hybridon

[thinden]

don't ya just love the way CNN is spinning this deal?

nothing here. let's move on.

[archy]

this is the link to the article about

"Bin Ladens Own Stake In Mass Biomedical Firm"

It's Hybridion

Details on other Bin-Laden family investments and partnerships in the biological products field can be found *here,* to include Intervac L.L.C.and The Carlyle Group, a privately held corporation whose board members have included George Bush, former Secretary of State James Baker, former Defence Secretary and Deputy CIA Director Frank Carlucci, and former British Prime Minister John Major- and one of whose major investors was the Bin-Laden family...until just about a month before the WTC and Pentagon attacks.

Additional discussion of Bin-Laden family operations in the Boston area *here*.

-archy-/-

[archy]

what is incredible (or is it) to comprehend was the FBI downplaying the red flags, flares, neon lights, sirens, whistles, pings, and pleadings of the Ptech employees trying to get their attention.

The FBI is an amazing piece of work.

It is indeed beginning to appear that the FBI has outlived any usefulness it may have once had. And just as they're now blaming Clinton for their past failures, they'll soon be blaming the Bush administration for their present ones.

-archy-/-

[Grampa Dave]

The FBI's Boston bureau was one of the most corrupt and incompetent before 8 years of the Clintoon and Jake Reno.

One can only imagine how Politically Correct and merged into Diversity training instead of investigating criminals it was after those 8 years.