(This article contains a reference to a second "prior" w/ the father; the first being the attempt to bring $27k into the country illegally; the second (below) a battery charge involving minors...)
Longtime investigation led to arrest of Lodi men By Jeff Hood Lodi Bureau Chief Published Thursday, June 9, 2005 http://www.recordnet.com/daily/news/articles/060905-gn-13.php The arrests Sunday of two Lodi men suspected of al-Qaida links were the result of a multiyear investigation into local terrorism connections, a top FBI official said Wednesday. Keith Slotter, head of the FBI's Sacramento division, said investigators believe al-Qaida trained terrorists "have been operating in the Lodi area" with the eventual goal of killing Americans. But there's no evidence the men were planning an attack, he said, denying some media reports that hospitals or grocery stores were targets. Even so, Slotter said, the Lodi case is the priority for his division "and is certainly a priority for the FBI as a whole." A Lodi ice cream truck driver and his son are in the Sacramento County Jail on charges they lied to the FBI last week when they denied having a connection with terrorist groups. A jail employee Wednesday said the men were not accepting visitors. Federal authorities said American-born Hamid Hayat, 22, admitted to receiving terrorist training from al-Qaida instructors in Pakistan in 2003 and 2004, and his father, Umer Hayat, 47, a naturalized immigrant from Pakistan, acknowledged he knew his son might be training at a terrorist camp when he paid for Hamid Hayat's airplane ticket and sent him $100 a month. On Wednesday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested Mohammad Hassan Adil, a 19-year-old member of the Lodi Muslim community, for suspected immigration violations. Two days earlier, his father, Mohammad Adil Khan, and Shabbir Ahmed were arrested on charges they violated terms of their visas. The two men are Lodi's imams, or Muslim spiritual leaders They face possible deportation to Pakistan depending on the result of an immigration hearing, said Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. That hearing hasn't been scheduled, she said. Authorities wouldn't say if or how the Muslim clerics are connected to the Hayats, who appeared in Sacramento's federal court Tuesday. Umer Hayat pleaded not guilty, and his son, who did not enter a plea, is scheduled to return to the court of U.S. Magistrate Peter A. Nowinski on Friday for a bail hearing. If the allegations contained in court documents are accurate, the case provides a rare look at the unraveling of a potential terrorist plot on American soil. The case also illustrates the challenges posed by Pakistan, a key ally in the war on terrorism even as it continues to serve as a breeding ground for Islamic militants. One surprising allegation in the affidavit is the reference to the al-Qaida camp, which Umer Hayat identified as "Tamal." Such a camp would be close to Rawalpindi €" home to Pakistan's military and intelligence service €" and to Islamabad, Pakistan's capital. U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott offered few new details Wednesday about the Lodi men but said the investigation is evolving rapidly. "We fully anticipate there will be developments in the hours and days ahead," Scott said during a Sacramento news conference. Scott said it isn't necessarily a crime to attend a terrorist training camp funded by al-Qaida. "Action that you voluntarily undertake to support terrorism can be a crime," he said. "We did not find these guys in the middle of executing a plan of attack, but we (felt they were up to something)." Officials said they were initially alerted to the Lodi men on May 29. Hamid Hayat was returning to California after spending two years in Pakistan when his name appeared on the "no fly" list of people with suspected terrorist ties. Hayat's Korean Air Lines flight was diverted to Tokyo and, after being interviewed by an FBI agent there, he was allowed to resume his travel to San Francisco. Stockton-based FBI agents followed up by first interviewing him Friday and again Saturday, when he allegedly confessed he had been taught paramilitary techniques to kill Americans and had asked to return to the United States to carry out his mission. A nephew and cousin of the Hayats said the FBI's conduct is "outrageous." Usama Ismail, 19, who lives less than a block from the Hayats, disputed the FBI's statements that Hamid Hayat trained in Pakistan with al-Qaida instructors. Ismail, who lives on the same block as the Hayats, said he was in Pakistan in 2003 and 2004 with his cousin. Hamid Hayat would sleep late, while Ismail studied at a nearby mosque. The men would watch movies and idle away the days together when he wasn't studying the Quran, Ismail said. Hamid Hayat was more interested in cricket, in getting a good job and being able to afford a house than anything related to terrorism, Ismail said. Hayat later found work at a Lodi produce-packing plant. Talat Waseem, a spokeswoman for Pakistan's Embassy in Washington, said allegations of a terrorist training camp in Pakistan "are totally baseless." Pakistan is seen by U.S. leaders as a strong ally in the campaign against terrorists following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Les Kolb, 67, who lives across Acacia Street from Hayat, said the neighborhood was clogged by roughly 25 federal vehicles on Tuesday as they searched Hayat's home. Hayat has owned his home since 1991, living in a house at the rear of the property and renting out the one nearest the street. Karina Murillo, 21, said her sister rents from Umer Hayat, who is always pleasant. "He never did anything that leads us to believe he had anything to do with this," Murillo said. "He would give our kids free ice cream when he came home from work." Defense attorney Johnny Griffin, who represents Umer Hayat, cautioned that his client has only been charged with making false statements to a federal agent, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. "There are some shocking and alarming statements alleging terrorist conduct, terrorist activities and support of terrorist organizations," Griffin said. "My client is not charged with any of those. He's not even charged with being a terrorist. Presumably, if they had more credible evidence, they would have charged him with something other than that €" making a false statement." Griffin said he expects prosecutors to return a federal grand jury indictment against the Hayats, rather than having a preliminary hearing. Lodi Mayor John Beckman said he is "outraged" that someone born in the United States allegedly received training from al-Qaida to attack Americans and that he fears there are potential terrorists in other small towns and cities across the country. "What's unfortunate is the vast majority of Americans are more interested in the Michael Jackson trial," he said. Assemblyman Hector De La Torre, D-Los Angeles, said he wouldn't be surprised if terrorists lived in California. "You have a target-rich environment here," he said, pointing to the state's large cities, attractions such as Disneyland and a movie-star governor. Umer Hayat's criminal record consists of a guilty plea to battery in 2001. He was sentenced to complete a 16-week anger-management course after two Lodi children accused the ice cream truck driver of chasing and grabbing them. The two children, ages 7 and 10 at the time, accused Hayat of getting rough and told their parents. Police originally charged Hayat with attempted kidnapping, child abuse and battery. Hayat pleaded no contest to the single battery count, and the other charges were dropped, according to court papers. Hayat said he never touched the children and that they had harassed him and thrown things at his ice cream truck, said Douglas Jacobsen, his attorney in the 2001 case. Hayat took the plea deal rather than fight the case at a trial, Jacobsen said. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ 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: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. 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