http://www.detnews.com/2005/wayne/0505/05/B03-170716.htm
Wednesday, May 4, 2005 Dearborn man to be tried in terror case Authorities claim he stole more than $400,000, collected money for Hezbollah. By David Shepardson / The Detroit News DEARBORN -- A 41-year-old Dearborn businessman sought to support the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah by collecting at least $600 to send to relatives of suicide bombers, the FBI said Tuesday. FBI agents arrested Nemr Ali Rahal on April 20 at his Dearborn home. They found a videotape of a 2002 Hezbollah rally in Lebanon attended by Rahal. Agents also found books, posters and videos -- one of which was titled "A Martyr Speaks About Martyrs." One tape was described by a federal prosecutor as a recruitment video. A picture showed Rahal and another man tearing and burning an American flag. The U.S. government has named Hezbollah, a Lebanese group known as the Party of God, as a terrorist organization. Hezbollah has conducted many high-profile attacks, especially on Israelis, and including the killing of a U.S. Marine lieutenant in 1989. On Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Steven D. Pepe ordered Rahal to stand trial on charges he had committed financial fraud by stealing more than $400,000 -- largely by opening more than 30 credit card accounts and then failing to pay balances. Pepe said he would decide today whether to release Rahal on bond. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia Oberg said that when Rahal returned to Detroit from Canada on Feb. 9, U.S. Customs agents found traces of "military-quality" explosives on both his and his young son's passports. FBI Special Agent John Shoup said that agents found $600 in change in buckets, and that Rahal admitted that the money was meant for "orphans" -- a euphemism for the children of suicide bombers. Rahal is co-owner of the Al-Salam Supermarket on Warren in Dearborn, according to an ownership agreement seized by the FBI. He became a U.S. citizen in 1999. Michael Rataj, a lawyer for Rahal, noted that customs agents did not detain Rahal after discovering the traces of the explosives. Customs officials wrote a report on the incident but it was not made public Tuesday. Rataj denounced the government's effort to detain his client, calling the hearing a "dog and pony show." "The government's imagination has run amuck," Rataj said. Shoup admitted he had no evidence that Rahal had engaged in violent behavior. During Tuesday's hearing, Rahal, who has no criminal record, shook his head and looked at his wife. Rahal admitted that he had "credit problems," Shoup said, and that Rahal had "obtained cash advances at casinos using his credit cards. ... He hoped to use the money to gamble, and win back enough money to pay off all his debts." The FBI and Justice Department's counter-terrorism unit in Detroit have made investigations of support for Hezbollah in Metro Detroit a top priority. On March 1, another Dearborn man pleaded guilty to providing material support to Hezbollah. Mahmoud Youssef Kourani, 33, admitted to hosting meetings at his Dearborn home during Ramadan in 2002 and allowing a Lebanese man to solicit donations for Hezbollah. He will be sentenced June 14. You can reach David Shepardson at (313) 222-2028 or [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Take a look at donorschoose.org, an excellent charitable web site for anyone who cares about public education! http://us.click.yahoo.com/_OLuKD/8WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
