Muslim charity defendants acquitted on one charge
By Lee Hammel TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF http://www.telegram.com/article/20071214/NEWS/712140389 <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> <http://www.telegram.com/graphics/one_pixel_transparent.gif> The defendants: Three former officials of Care International, a defunct Muslim charity in Boston, including Shrewsbury resident Muhamed Mubayyid, 42, formerly of Westboro; Emadeddin Z. Muntasser, 42 of Braintree, and Samir Al-Monla, 50, of Boston, both formerly of Worcester. Background: All are charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States from April 1993 to April 2003, by concealing material facts, and obstructing and impeding the Internal Revenue Service. Mr. Mubayyid also is charged with three counts of filing a false tax return in connection with the government's contention that all three withheld information that might have affected the IRS decision to grant Care tax-exempt status. They did not reveal that Care allegedly supported Muslim holy war and the mujahedeen who fight it and that it allegedly was an outgrowth of the Al-Kifah Refugee Center, a New York-based organization that has been tied to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York. BOSTON- Two defendants in a Muslim charity case were acquitted yesterday of one of the eight charges filed in U.S. District Court. Emadeddin Z. Muntasser, 42, and Samir Al-Monla, 50, both formerly of Worcester, were acquitted of obstructing the Internal Revenue Service. Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV made the ruling on the motion by Susan R. Estrich, one of Mr. Muntasser's lawyers, on the 21st day of the jury trial, which continues today. Judge Saylor came close to also acquitting the defendants on a charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States. "There's no doubt in my mind" that Mr. Muntasser's filing for tax exempt status for Care International in June 1993 could support asking the jury to convict him "if there's another person to have a conspiracy." <http://adx.telegram.com/apps/adx.dll/href/WT001/LARGEUNITAD01/COLUMN51/-1/- 1/FRONTPAGE/9491/;URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.worcesterrestaurantgroup.com%2Fultima te_dining_card.asp> But the judge was not ready to accept the argument of David Duncan, another Muntasser lawyer, that the other two defendants or unindicted co-conspirators, Wassim Yassin or Mohamed Akra, knew that Mr. Muntasser withheld information from the IRS when he filed for tax exempt status. But Assistant U. S. Attorney Aloke Chakravarty said Mr. Yassin and Mr. Akra, directors of Care International, knew the object of Mr. Muntasser's filing - to get undeserved tax exempt status - and the government does not have to prove they knew the details of how he did it. Judge Saylor denied acquittal on the conspiracy charge "with no small degree of reservation," adding, "I make no promise as to how I might rule on a renewal" of the motion. He acquitted on the obstruction charge because the six-year statute of limitations expired on the 2005 indictment for all but Muhamed Mubayyid, who filed Care International's tax returns while serving as treasurer from 1997 to 2003. Assistant U.S. Attorney B. Stephanie Siegmann said that lies told to FBI agents in 2003 - Mr. Al-Monla denying knowledge of a man who died while fighting jihad and Mr. Muntasser denying that he made a trip to Afghanistan - were part of the conspiracy to conceal Care International's non-charitable activities. But Judge Saylor said that Care's tax status did not come up in the FBI interviews and questioned how the defendants could have known they were impeding the IRS. Judge Saylor said, "I was not swayed on the First Amendment argument" and did not acquit on the false statement charges because he said freedom of speech and the right to practice one's religion "does not permit the making of false statements." Lawyers begin their defense today on charges of conspiracy and scheming to conceal material facts; charges against Mr. Mubayyid of obstruction and of three years of filing false tax returns for Care; and a charge of making a false statement against Mr. Muntasser and Mr. Al-Monla. Michael C. Andrews, Mr. Mubayyid's lawyer, said he will renew his motion to acquit because he said that after five weeks of trial, there is no evidence that his client made false statements. (F)AIR USE NOTICE: All original content and/or articles and graphics in this message are copyrighted, unless specifically noted otherwise. All rights to these copyrighted items are reserved. 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