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THE KEY WEST CITIZEN SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2016

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Counterfeit
Continued from Page 1A

count of conspiracy to possess and to pass and utter

counterfeit currency, six
counts of passing and uttering counterfeit currency and
possession of counterfeit
currency. She had faced a
maximum of 145 years in
federal prison.
Montes-Quinones faces
one count of conspiracy
to possess and to pass and
utter counterfeit currency,
one count of passing and
uttering counterfeit currency and two counts of possession of counterfeit currency.
He faced a maximum of 65
years in federal prison upon
being charged.
A plea agreement was
reached between both
and Special Assistant U.S.
Attorney Mark Wilson that
likely will spare them such
lengthy prison time. The
plea remained sealed as of
Friday and not available to
the public. King could reject
that plea, however, and
sentence them outside the
bounds of the agreement.
Such pleas are only recommendations made by the
government to the judge
upon sentencing, but its
rare for judges to sentence
defendants far outside the

FKCC
Continued from Page 1A

the environment.
The engineering technology-alternative energy technician program is
designed to work within the
colleges existing programs
and infrastructure, according to a news release from
the school. The college will
repurpose its 40-foot deep
lagoon, originally used to
train diving students, as the
hub for alternative energy
research on its Key West
campus.
The facility will soon be
the home of the Tidal Energy
Simulation Laboratory. The
controlled environment
provides researchers and
students an opportunity to
test prototype hydropower
devices, as well as compare
wind and solar technologies.
Students in FKCCs Marine
Engineering program will
craft the fiberglass vessel

Trial
Continued from Page 1A

undercover informants testify from the witness stand, or

it could mean they may testify behind a screen or further still, use pseudonyms as
opposed to their real names.
It could also mean the
government wants similar protections whenever
the agents or informants
names arise in courtroom
proceedings even when they
are not on the witness stand.
Most often, these sort of
measures are taken to protect the identity of agents or
undercover operatives, but it
is rare for a judge to clear the
public from the courtroom
during trial.
Typically, such a measure would have to meet a
high legal burden as public
trials are protected under
the Constitution although
the Supreme Court ruled in
1966 that the right to a public trial is not absolute.

scope of the agreement.

The couple was initially arrested by the Monroe
County Sheriffs Office in
February following a rash of
fake $100 bills being reported at several businesses. The
state charges against them
will likely be dropped as
the U.S. Attorneys Office by
way of the grand jury has
filed more serious federal
charges.
Prosecutors allege the
couple with CarvajalPerez being the primary person making the transactions
made nearly $400 during
at least six transactions in
February at businesses in
Key Largo, Islamorada and
Tavernier, according to the
indictment.
Both pleaded not guilty
earlier this month before
U.S. Magistrate Judge
Lurana S. Snow and were
given $50,000 bail.
A cashier at a Key Largo
business helped nab the
couple, according to the
Monroe County Sheriffs
Office.
Detective Barney Sajdak
heard over his radio a notice
to be on the lookout for a
vehicle occupied by a couple involved in attempting
to pass a fake $100 bill at
Mother Ocean Consignment
at Mile Marker 99, reports
say.

The clerk called the

Sheriffs Office after a
woman gave her a $100
bill to pay for a purchase,
but the cashier recognized
it was fake, gave it back to
the woman and then called
to report it, reports say.
The vehicle a black Ford
Ranger truck left headed
southbound on the highway
with a man and a woman
inside, report say.
Sajdak spotted a similar vehicle parked at Mile
Marker 92 and found the
driver, later identified as
Montes-Quinones, inside,
reports say.
Montes-Quinones refused
to say where his wife was
but opened his wallet when
Sajdak asked if he had any
money, reports say.
The notes were a different
color and had a different feel
to them than normal bills.
In addition, in checking the
serial numbers, the detective noticed all the serial
numbers were identical.
More of the fake currency
was later found above the
sun visor of the truck, in an
envelope, according to the
Sheriffs Office.
He was detained at that
point and his wife exited
a store nearby carrying a
shopping bag shortly thereafter, reports say.

from which ET-AET students

will conduct research in the
waters surrounding the college in the Gulf of Mexico
and Florida Straits.
In the Florida Keys and
beyond, the college is
assembling a global network
of experts in solar, wind and
ocean power to contribute
to the program by providing
curriculum guidance and
hosting professional internships for students as they
near graduation.
The college also will work
with Hydrokinetic Energy
Corp. a Stock Island
company that engineers
hydrokinetic turbines for
the production of electric
energy. The list of collaborators in the new program also
includes local companies
Benson Green Technology,
Sea Air Land Technologies
and Keys Energy, as well as
Florida Atlantic Universitys
Southeast National Marine
Renewable Energy Center.
Much farther away, FKCC

is building a partnership
with EnGen Institute in
Australia, a nonprofit educational and research organization that focuses on
sustainable power engineering. With the resources
provided by the NSF grant,
FKCC students could have
the opportunity to travel
Down Under to the Torres
Straits to practice their skills
and broaden their resume.
In turn, EnGen would also
send their affiliates for training at FKCC.
We are proud to be at
the forefront of renewable
energy development that
not only prepares students
for in-demand jobs of the
future, but also contributes
to a healthier planet, said
FKCC President Jonathan
Gueverra. We are grateful to the National Science
Foundation for investing in
the tremendous potential
that exists at our small but,
literally, powerful institution.

Harlem Suarez was

arrested last year after an
undercover FBI sting in
which he bought an inert
bomb intending to blow
it up in a backpack on a
Key West beach. The government alleges Suarez
expressed support and/or
sympathy for the Islamic
State on social media and to
undercover FBI operatives.
His attorney, Richard
Della
Fera
of
Fort
Lauderdale, could not be
reached for comment.
Martinez set a trial date
of Jan. 19, 2017 at the federal courthouse on Simonton
Street in Key West. The trial
had been scheduled for July
11, but Fera argued previously that the Orlando
nightclub shooting would
have made it difficult to seat
an impartial jury.
The former Key West
restaurant worker and
one-time employee of
American Airlines at Key
West International Airport
is accused of making

numerous violent calls to

action against Americans
on behalf of the Islamic
State while using the pseudonym Almlak Benitez via
Facebook.
He claimed to have two
handguns, but failed in a
bid to acquire two AK-47
assault rifles legally purchased via the Internet after
he filled out paperwork
incorrectly.
FBI agents had Suarez
under surveillance for
months and although he
solicited bomb instructions
for a ready-made bomb,
there are no indications
he made one, according to
court records filed by the
government.
Nothing in the court
docket suggests Suarez ever
was in contact with Islamic
State members directly, but
the government alleges he
made multiple statements
online and to an undercover
FBI operative in support of
the terrorist group.

alinhardt@keysnews.com

Contributed photo/Dr. Robert Loeffler

A horse-drawn cart in the Zaatri refugee camp. This is the most common transportation,
Loeffler said.

Doctor
Continued from Page 1A

the DWB policy of neutrality meant that he treated

everyone regardless of their
militant affiliation. The
youngest fighter he treated
may have been 16 or so.
The doctor wasnt sure. The
oldest was likely 40.
One really tragic case
was a woman who had
both legs blown off above
her knees, he said, pausing
for a moment again. She
was pregnant.
Loeffler and the other
doctors saved her and she
would later deliver a healthy
and adorable baby.
She and her baby were
able to be reunited with her
husband.
He praised the group
Handicap International,
which would arrive weekly and outfit the injured
with prosthetic devices.
The pregnant woman was
able to be outfitted with
such devices, but what that
patient endured left a lasting mark.
That woman still haunts
me, he said. I cant imagine being pregnant and
losing both legs. It was not
good, but theres a lot of not
good things over there.
The work was around
the clock, like being in an
emergency room where
you work whenever youre
needed, Loeffler said. He
shared a bathroom with
other staffers than amounted to nothing more than a
hole in the floor. Showers
were done with a handheld
shower head. The water
sometimes worked and
other times it didnt.
A Jordanian woman

alinhardt@keysnews.com

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alinhardt@keysnews.com

SOWELL

Every Tuesday in
PROMO

have a pat answer to that.

What you do is so dramatic, to me anyway, and the
people are so appreciative.
I feel like Im really doing
something of value. Not
that I wasnt doing valuable
things in the U.S. or in Key
West, but here if I dont do
it, likely there is someone
else who can or will. Thats
not the case over there.
My companions over
there (he worked with nurses or workers from all over
the world) told me as the
days go by, you forget how
tough living it is. The beds
are horrible, but the days go
by and you think about it
less and less.
Loeffler returned to Key
West on Tuesday night after
spending more than 30
hours traveling. He became
one of the many travelers
entrapped by the fiasco
that led to numerous flights
nationwide being cancelled
due to computer problems
with Delta Air Lines.
Media reports over the
last few days are full of disgruntled quotes from travelers. Loeffler chuckled.
I was at the airport in
Amsterdam and everything was delayed, delayed,
delayed and everyone is
talking about it and here I
am thinking: Hey, its just
another day and another
setback.
Loeffler was unsure when
he might be going back.
For now, he is in Key West
getting used to having a
real toilet and hot showers again. But the work has
inspired him to continue.
Its hard to describe saving someone and watching them see their family
again, he said.

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THOMAS

READ.

cooked a meal for us every

day, which was nice. It was
mostly always Jordanian
rice, chicken and hummus.
Over and over and over
again, but thats OK.
Hes been in Key West
for about 14 years and has
been involved with Doctors
Without Borders going on
a decade. He went to Haiti
after the 2010 7.3-magnitude earthquake where he
treated the injured in Portau-Prince.
The conditions in Haiti
were spartan. He slept
on small Army-style cots.
Sleeping was made more
difficult with the constant
rumble of helicopters taking off and landing. There
were no showers or latrines;
doctors and nurses were
forced to improvise in
whatever ways possible. It
was similar in Jordan.
You get used to a different level of living, he said.
You have to adjust. If you
cant, you shouldnt be in
(DWB) anyway.
Loeffler once served
as team physician for the
University of Colorado football team and treated collegiate and professional athletes. The awards and magazine covers hanging on
his office walls attest to his
expertise U.S. News and
World Report honored him
with its The Best Doctors
in America Award: Sports
Medicine four times.
Hes made a nice living
as an orthopedic surgeon,
but his experiences in
Haiti and near Syria have
reminded him why he got
into medicine. When asked
if he would return to Syria,
Loeffler was quick to reply.
Yeah, definitely, he said.
I dont know why. I dont

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