Man Linked to Hijackers Indicted
— -- A Virginia man with ties to Sept. 11 ringleader Mohammed Atta is indicted on document fraud charges. New York City demands eBay stop selling World Trade Center memorabilia. Americans still seem reluctant to fly in the wake of the terrorist attacks. A man pleads guilty to looting a jewelry store while pretending to be an emergency worker at the World Trade Center.
Virginia Man Linked to Hijackers Indicted
A L E X A N D R I A, Va., Feb. 22 — A Virginia man with ties to Sept. 11ringleader Mohammed Atta was indicted Thursday on two counts ofdocument fraud, charged with helping an associate of Osama binLaden obtain a fake ID.
Agus Budiman, 31, an Indonesian native, has been detained sincehis arrest Oct. 30. Authorities are suspicious of his links to Attaand others whom federal authorities have identified as terrorists,but Budiman's lawyers say their client is merely a victim of guiltby association.
Seven of the Sept. 11 hijackers were able to exploit a loopholethat allowed people to obtain drivers' licenses and ID cards bysubmitting sworn statements instead of proof of residency oridentity. The loophole was closed Sept. 21.
The indictment alleges that in November 2000, Budiman falselycertified that another man listed as an unindicted co-conspiratorwas a Virginia resident, allowing that man to obtain an ID cardfrom the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Previous courtrecords indicate the man was Mohammad Bin Nasser Belfas, who hasbeen named by authorities as a contact for bin Laden.
Federal authorities have also said Ziad Jarrah, one of the Sept.11 hijackers, listed Budiman's address on an application to enterthe United States. Another man, Ramsi Binalshibh, twice listedBudiman's address in an unsuccessful effort to get into thecountry.
Budiman's lawyers say his address was put on those two visaapplications without his permission.
Authorities have said Binalshibh, a roommate of Atta, may havebeen "the 20th hijacker" who was supposed to be aboard UnitedAirlines Flight 93, which crashed in western Pennsylvania on Sept.11.
Budiman has acknowledged attending the same mosque in Hamburg,Germany, as Atta and helping Atta move into an apartment in 1998.But his lawyers said Budiman helped Atta only because that way hecould borrow a car to move his own belongings.
Budiman's lawyer, William Moffitt, did not immediately returncalls seeking comment. In a previous court appearance, he saidBudiman had passed an FBI lie-detector test in which he denied anyadvance knowledge of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Budiman will be arraigned March 4.
Budiman is one of five people charged with document fraud inconnection with the Sept. 11 attacks. The other four have allpleaded guilty and received sentences ranging from four to 27months.
— The Associated Press
NYC Tells eBay to Stop Selling WTC Memorabilia
N E W Y O R K, Feb. 22 — New York City is furious over what it sees asan attempt by eBay to exploit a tragedy.
In a letter to the online auction company, the city's top lawyerdemanded that that eBay remove from its Web site all itemsrelated to the World Trade Center attack.
According to Corporation Counsel Michael Cardozo, many of theitems represent what he called "outrageous attempts to profit froma recent act of mass murder." He added that the items themselvesmay be the result of unlawful activity.
Cardozo said eBay should ban trade center memorabilia, at leastuntil the city and the company can agree on what can be sold.Otherwise, he said, he may go to court.
EBay officials said the company is not likely to institute such a ban.
— The Associated Press
Airlines Saw Drop in Passengers Last Month
W A S H I N G T O N, Feb. 22 — Americans are apparently still reluctant tofly in the wake of the September terrorist attacks.
The major airlines carried 37.5 million passengerslast month — 6 million fewer than in January last year.
The Air Transport Association said the number of passengers wasdown 14 percent. That matches a drop in December, but is not as badas declines in October and November. And the airline trade groupsaid it has been seeing a steady improvement in business.
Last month's passenger decline happened despite cheaper fares.Passengers paid on average 16 percent less for a domestic ticketcompared to a year earlier. Fares for international flights weredown 14 percent.
— The Associated Press
Unemployed Guard Pleads Guilty to WTC Looting
N E W Y O R K, Feb. 22 — An unemployed man pleaded guilty Thursday tocharges he looted a jewelry store Sept. 12 while pretending to bean emergency worker at the World Trade Center.
Johnny Dunham, 26, a former security guard, pleaded guilty togrand larceny and other charges, admitting he stole at least sixwatches from Tourneau, an upscale store in the building complex.
Dunham pleaded guilty in exchange for a sentence of seven years,the maximum for third-degree grand larceny. He will be eligible forparole after he serves two years and four months.
State Supreme Court Justice Herbert Altman said he will sentenceDunham on March 21.
Court documents say Dunham bragged that he stole as many as 20watches from Tourneau and gave one $15,000 watch to a woman he wastrying to impress.
Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said Dunham, twiceconvicted on charges of impersonating a police officer, also stolea firefighter's jacket and an oxygen canister bag from an ambulancethat was destroyed at the scene.
— The Associated Press
INS to Let Detainees Pray, Eat Special Food for Muslim Holiday
N E W A R K, N.J., Feb. 22 — Muslims held in New Jersey jails as part ofthe terrorism investigation will be allowed to pray together andeat special meals as they celebrate a major religious holiday thisweekend, federal officials said.
Friday marks the beginning of the four-day Eid al-Adha, or"Feast Of the Sacrifice," a time when Muslims make pilgrimages toMecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the holiest times of the year inthe Muslim calendar, along with the holy month of Ramadan.
During Ramadan, detainees complained they were not allowed topray adequately in the Hudson and Passaic County jails, and werenot given food prepared according to Muslim dietary laws. Inprotest, some detainees staged a hunger strike lasting nearly twoweeks.
As a result of those problems, authorities agreed to be moreaccommodating this weekend, said Scott Dempsey, a spokesman for theU.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service in Newark.
"I think we learned from that," he said. "Prior to Ramadan, Idon't know if we knew what they needed. Once we know, we try to beas accommodating as we can to their religious needs."
Among other things, the traditional meal of lamb will be offeredto the Muslims.
Authorities said recently they are holding about 460 detaineesarrested since Sept. 11, most of them Muslims. About 90 percent areincarcerated in New Jersey, mostly on immigration charges.
Muslim community leaders in New Jersey pressed immigrationofficials to change the way detainees are allowed to observe theEid.
— The Associated Press