Valin Posted June 5, 2010 Share Posted June 5, 2010 The Toledo Blade:Case based on informant once arrested by immigration servicesBRIDGET THARP and IGNAZIO MESSINABLADE STAFF WRITERS6/4/10Hor and Amera Akl expected to be with their three children traveling to visit relatives in Lebanon today.Instead they are behind bars.After an eight-month federal investigation, the West Toledo husband and wife were arrested yesterday on charges of conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, Hezbollah.They were arrested during a raid of their home, 3911 Brookfield Drive off Sylvania Avenue. Many neighbors watched from their front lawns as FBI investigators spent hours removing wheels, snaking a device down the gas lines, and peering under the hoods of two family automobiles: a sport utility vehicle and pickup carrying a bag of cat litter, a child's swimming inner tube, and a large pack of mulch."Very good people. Very nice, very friendly," said Bob Lydy, 25, who has lived beside the Akl family for two years.Mr. Akl, 37, and his wife, Mrs. Akl, 37, both dual citizens of the United States and Lebanon, face charges that they conspired to launder money and committed arson relating to an insurance fraud scheme. Mr. Akl is also charged with two counts of bankruptcy fraud and one count of perjury.If convicted on all counts, Mrs. Akl could face a maximum of 45 years in prison and up to $752,000 in fines. Mr. Akl could face up to 55 years in prison and up to$1.25 million in fines."This case demonstrates our continued commitment to prosecuting those who seek to aid terrorists and terrorist organizations, whether they do so from our backyards or abroad," U.S. Attorney Steven M. Dettelbach said in a news release. "Furthermore, those who seek to take illegal advantage of our government, judicial, and financial institutions, for their personal benefit or for the benefit of others, will not be ignored."Both suspects will be detained until a preliminary hearing in U.S. District Court in Toledo at 1 p.m. Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Vernelis K. Armstrong ruled.(Snip)The case against the couple is based on information provided by an FBI confidential informant, referred to as "Source-1," who has been paid $23,425.07 for providing information to the FBI in Toledo since 2003, according to a federal affidavit.Most of that money, more than $19,000, was paid since Oct. 1 for reporting related to the Akl case, the affidavit said.The informant was initially arrested by Immigration and Naturalization Services in Cleveland in 2003, though charges were dropped upon the FBI's request. The informant and his or her spouse were sponsored for permanent residency by the FBI in December, 2008.Information from such a source was used by the FBI in two high-profile terrorism cases in 2006. Three Toledo men - Mohammad Amawi, Marwan El-Hindi, and Wassim Mazloum - were convicted of plotting to assist Iraqi insurgents. A West Toledo charity, KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development Inc., was dissolved by the U.S. Treasury Department amid allegations it was shuffling cash to terrorists, though a judge condemned the government's action as illegal in 2009.According to the complaint, the Akls agreed to send money to the terrorist organization Hezbollah after they were approached by a confidential informant for the FBI who claimed he worked for an anonymous donor eager to support Hezbollah. The couple researched and proposed at least 10 ways in which the money could be shipped to Hezbollah.The complaint alleges the Akls ultimately agreed to conceal as much as $1 million in the hollow sections of two vehicles that would be shipped to Lebanon via a car dealership in Toledo. They then would remove the cash and give it to Hezbollah officials on behalf of the purported anonymous donors in the United States, the complaint said.The Akls expected to receive a fee or commission for arranging the transfer of funds, and Mr. Akl in March traveled to Lebanon to make arrangements for the delivery of the money to Hezbollah, the complaint alleges.The affidavit also said others involved in the plan include a brother of Mrs. Akl who resides in Maumee and Mr. Akl's brother in Lebanon, who owns a recreational facility where Hezbollah allegedly is allowed to meet.....(Snip)__________________________________________________________________________ABC News: Texas Terror Sting: Feds Say Suspect Was in Contact With Anwar al-AwlakiBarry Walter Bujol Allegedly Was in Contact With Awlaki Going Back to 2008JASON RYANWASHINGTON, June 3, 2010 A Texas man has been indicted on two counts for allegedly attempting to support al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and communicating with one of its top leaders Anwar Al Awlaki, a Yemeni-American cleric who U.S. officials have placed at the center of several recent terrorist plots involving U.S. targets and Americans, including last year's deadly Ft. Hood shooting, which left 13 dead. The man, Barry Walter Bujol, 29, allegedly was in contact with Awlaki going back to 2008, when he gained the attention of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force in Houston.Agents determined that Bujol, who they said used aliases including "Abdul Bari," "Abyu Najya," "Pat Lex" and "Abdul-Bari Al Ameriki Al Aswad," was in e-mail communication with Awlaki. The cleric allegedly provided Bujol with a document entitled, "42 Ways of Supporting Jihad." Bujol also allegedly asked Awlaki for guidance on how to provide materials and funds to foreign fighters overseas.The two-count indictment charging him with providing material support to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and aggravated identity theft was unsealed late on Thursday.The identity theft charge involves Bujol being in possession of a controlled identification card for transportation workers called a TWIC card (Transportation Workers Identification Card), which can be used to gain access to sensitive locations at ports and at other areas of critical infrastructure.(Snip) According to Justice Department officials, in November the FBI used a confidential human source who Bujol believed was affiliated with al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and was acting as an operative for the group.During meetings, Bujol allegedly stated his interest in traveling oversees to engage in fighting with al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). In the course of meetings, the human source being run by the FBI gave Bujol the TWIC card so that he could use it to board a ship he believed was heading to the Middle East from the port in Houston. The source also allegedly gave Bujol pre-paid calling cards, mobile phone SIM cards, GPS receivers and publications and information about unmanned aerial vehicle operations and U.S. military weapons systems.Bujol allegedly believed he was to courier the items to AQAP operatives -- but in reality it was all an FBI sting operation. Bujol boarded the ship on May 30 in Houston and was arrested by FBI agents. (Snip)Bujol is scheduled to have an arraignment on June 8, 2010 in Houston.Bujol is the latest American terrorism suspect tied to Anwar al-Awlaki. Besides the Ft. Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Malik Hassan, in March a New Jersey nuclear plant worker, Sharif Mobley, was arrested by Yemeni security forces with 10 other suspected Al Qaeda members. Awlaki also allegedly was in contact with the so-called Christmas Day bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab , who attempted to detonate a bomb on Northwest Airlines flight 253. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanguine Posted June 5, 2010 Share Posted June 5, 2010 And, here's the lovely Mr. Bujol: Waller County News Link He apparently was a window washer making $75/week at a company that he set up, and living on the dole. His wife survived with funds from family members. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valin Posted June 5, 2010 Author Share Posted June 5, 2010 And, here's the lovely Mr. Bujol: I was just trying to provide humanitarian aid. that's my story and I'm stickin with it What we are dealing with is an obvious case of racial profiling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanguine Posted June 5, 2010 Share Posted June 5, 2010 What we are dealing with is an obvious case of racial profiling. I wouldn't have thought so, but now I'm wondering why I had a hard time finding a photo of him. Would have thought that the press would be anxious to run a photo of a "home-grown" terrorist, but they appear to have been remarkably reticent to do so. So, now I wonder why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valin Posted June 5, 2010 Author Share Posted June 5, 2010 What we are dealing with is an obvious case of racial profiling. I wouldn't have thought so, but now I'm wondering why I had a hard time finding a photo of him. Would have thought that the press would be anxious to run a photo of a "home-grown" terrorist, but they appear to have been remarkably reticent to do so. So, now I wonder why. TERRORIST! Shame on you! The absolute worst you can call him is an alleged militant. And there will be no more of this Jihadi talk...that kind of language is right out. "The One" has spoken....so it it written...so let it be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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