North Jersey Media Group Page 1 of 3

Print I Close

Supposed links to terrorism revealed

Wednesday, June 25, 2003
tUfcxi
By JENNIFER V. HUGHES
STAFF WRITER

He had a list of names of Sept. 11 hijackers, taken from the Internet and
underlined. TIMELINE

Sept. 19, 2001: FBI agents visit

There were his supposed ties to a Jersey City business used by terrorists Mohamed EI-Atriss at his Paterson
in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and to the company's owner, a store, and he provides them with credit
suspected terrorist. And there was a cryptic fax that mentioned jet airplane card receipts and records of his
transactions with the hijackers.
parts.
Spring 2002: Passaic County sheriff's
That was some of the evidence presented by authorities during a secret officers begin Investigating EI-Atriss
court hearing seven months ago in an effort to keep a Paterson after patrol officers stop drivers and
find they were using international
businessman - initially charged with selling IDs to two of the hijackers - licenses supplied by EI-Atriss'
behind bars. The 80 pages of transcripts were released Tuesday. business.

But Mohamed EI-Atriss, who has since pleaded guilty to the document July 31, 2002: Passaic County sheriff's
officers raid EI-Atriss' Paterson and
charges, continued to insist he has nothing to do with terrorism and has Elizabeth businesses, not knowing he
simple answers for every allegation. had left several days earlier on a trip to
Egypt with his family.

"I'm very sad that I was held for six months based on this information," EI- Aug. 20, 2002: EI-Atriss returns to the
Atriss said Tuesday during a news conference. His lawyer blasted the United States and is arrested at John
allegations. F. Kennedy International Airport in New
York City. He had learned he was
wanted by watching news reports of his
"Nothing was corroborated.... It illustrates the danger and irreparable harm case on television, and tried to turn
of secret evidence," said Clifton attorney Miles Feinstein. himself in at the American embassy but
was turned away. He turned himself in
to Egyptian authorities and spent 11
Authorities, however, said the transcripts, revealed after news outlets sued days being questioned before he was
released.
for their release, speak for themselves in a case in which EI-Atriss was
held for months on unusually high bail.
Nov. 19, 2002: State Superior Court
Judge Marilyn Clark hears evidence in
EI-Atriss, 46, of Union, was sentenced to probation, a fine, and time served secret from a Passaic County sheriff's
officer. After the 90-minute proceeding
for the six months he spent in the Passaic County Jail before he was in her court chambers, she doubles EI-
released in February. He admitted selling "simulated" documents to two of Atriss' bail to $500,000.
the Sept. 11 hijackers from his Market Street office, All Services Plus, not
knowing their plans. January 2003: EI-Atriss' lawyer files
papers seeking to have the bail
reduced or the secret evidence
But while he was jailed, state Superior Court Judge Marilyn Clark took the revealed. The state cites national
almost unprecedented step of holding the secret hearing, taking testimony security and says releasing the
information would jeopardize the
from a sheriff's detective. Afterward, the judge doubled EI-Atriss' bail to "safety of the general population."
$500,000.
Feb. 4, 2003: EI-Atriss pleads guilty to
Most of the allegations come as the detective cites information he said he selling "simulated documents," in a
deal that will bring five years of
received from conversations with FBI agents. The transcripts also shed probation, a $15,000 fine, and credit for
light on tensions among law enforcement agencies over the case. the six months he served in the county
jail. He is freed later that night on
$50,000 bail.
Passaic County Sheriff Jerry Speziale went to arrest EI-Atriss on July 31
with the news media in tow, not knowing EI-Atriss was on a planned trip to April 10, 2003: Media outlets, including
Egypt. Afterward, federal authorities said Speziale had thwarted an

http://www.bergenrecord.com/print.php?qstr=ZmdiZWw3Zid2cWVlRUV5eTYzOTUzMDA... 6/25/03
4 Transcripts Are Released in Case Tied to 9/11 Hijackers Page 1 of 3

STARBUCKS.CQM
SPOHSBSEDW

June 25,2003

4 Transcripts Are Released in Case Tied to 9/11 Hijackers

By ROBERT HANLEY and JONATHAN MILLER

P ATERSON, N.J., June 24 — The North Jersey man who admitted he sold fake identification cards
to two Sept. 11 hijackers has been out of jail since March. The month before, Passaic County
prosecutors agreed to a plea deal and five years' probation for the man, Mohamed el-Atriss, even though
they had testified in closed hearings that he might have links to terrorists.

But today, those insinuations, which had kept Mr. Atriss in jail for nearly six months, were revisited as
the judge released the transcripts of four secret bail hearings, including testimony and suggestions about
his possible links to terrorists. That testimony included claims that Mr. Atriss, a 46-year-old native of
Egypt, may have had contact with two more hijackers, in addition to the two he admitted selling fake
ID'S.

In the first of the hearings, on Nov. 19, the testimony was compelling enough to prompt Judge Marilyn
C. Clark to raise Mr. Atriss's bail to $500,000 from $250,000.

Once Judge Clark released the transcripts today, federal authorities and Mr. Atriss himself quickly
dismissed the importance of the evidence.

The United States attorney for New Jersey, Christopher J. Christie, said through a spokesman that he
and the Federal Bureau of Investigation were satisfied long ago that Mr. Atriss was not a security
danger and had no ties to the 9/11 hijackers beyond unwittingly selling them false documents.

Mr. Atriss and his lawyer, Miles R. Feinstein, called a news conference to rebut the testimony point by
point.

Bill Maer, a spokesman for the Passaic County sheriffs office, would not comment on whether the
testimony should still be considered valid. The sheriff, Jerry Speziale, issued a statement saying that his
office had acted appropriately in pursuing the case and that the transcripts spoke for themselves.

County and federal officials have feuded over the case since Mr. Speziale's detectives raided Mr.
Atriss's document business and home in July 2002. The newly released documents make those icy
relations clear.

Several news organizations, including The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Star-
Ledger of Newark had sued for the release of the transcripts, and Judge Clark agreed this month.

According to the transcripts, Fred Ernst, a detective in Sheriff Speziale's criminal investigations section,
offered several reasons for the $500,000 bail sought by the Passaic County prosecutor's office. Among
them were:

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/25/nyregion/25SECR.html?pagewanted=print&position= 6/25/03