Posted on 06/29/2002 6:27:07 AM PDT by demkicker
June 29, 2002, 12:07AM
28 Nabbed by Feds at Fort Worth site Some may have ties to extremist group
By DEANNA BOYD
Copyright 2002 Fort Worth Star-Telegram
FORT WORTH -- Federal agents raided an aviation repair facility at Fort Worth Meacham Airport on Friday morning, arresting 28 workers on immigration violations. Some of them, sources said, may be affiliated with a Muslim extremist group responsible for a string of kidnappings in the southern Philippines.
Kathy Colvin, a spokeswoman with the U.S. attorney's office for Northern Texas, said federal felony charges will be filed Monday against some of the detained mechanics, who were working for Spirit Aviation Services. Colvin said the workers apparently entered the United States through Mexico, the Philippines and Peru.
Officials said the charges will relate to false statements on immigration documents.
Sources said some of those arrested appear to have ties to Abu Sayyaf, a Muslim rebel group in the Philippines that abducted more than 100 people in the past year, including a Philippine nurse and a missionary couple from Wichita, Kan. The three were the target of a rescue attempt this month in which the nurse and husband were killed and the wife was wounded.
Sources declined to discuss the extent of the connections between those arrested and Abu Sayyaf, which has been linked by federal authorities to the al Qaeda terrorist network.
In May, the United States offered a reward of up to $5 million for the capture of the group's leaders. The Philippine government has had a $100,000 reward on the heads of five Abu Sayyaf leaders for almost a year.
One notorious leader of the gang, Abu Sabaya, is presumed dead after reportedly exchanging gunfire with U.S.-trained forces June 21 while apparently trying to flee in a boat from Mindanao island, in the southern Philippines. According to published reports, one soldier reported shooting Sabaya in the back as he tried to swim away.
About 40 agents from the Border Patrol, Immigration and Naturalization Service and the North Texas Joint Terrorism Task Force participated in the 9 a.m. raid at Spirit Aviation.
"The company was very cooperative," said David Davidson, a supervisor with the U.S. Marshal's Service in Fort Worth.
Sgt. Mike Jones, supervisor of the Fort Worth Police Department's criminal intelligence unit, which also participated in the investigation and raid, said the joint operation's purpose was to "make our country safe."
Since the unit formed in December, Jones said, investigators have received "complaints and concerns from citizens regarding Meacham Airport and certain foreign nationals." He declined to elaborate on the complaints.
Jones said the investigation has been going on for months.
Spirit Airlines, the largest privately held airline in the country, started as a Detroit charter company 12 years ago. Today, it is a passenger line with 28 McDonnell Douglas MD-80 planes and makes 100 flights a day to 15 destinations across the United States and to the Caribbean.
The airline's headquarters are now in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Its planes undergo repair, modifications and painting at the Fort Worth facility, which employs more than 100 workers, said Laura Bennett, a Spirit Airlines spokeswoman.
The airline does not operate commercial flights in or out of Meacham Airport, she said.
Bennett said the company has cooperated with authorities since learning of the federal investigation several days ago and had handed over requested documentation regarding its workers' immigration status.
Bennett said that while all employees had provided the company documentation, such as driver's licenses, passports and mechanic's licenses, the investigation apparently revealed that some of the documents were fraudulent.
"This is very sad for us. Some of these people have become friends and were longtime employees," Bennett said. "The picture that is often painted is (that) these are negative people, but in this case, though some of them may be, it certainly wasn't all of them. They were very hardworking, very professional people who, yes, had bad documents."
Bennett said none of those arrested has a criminal record.
A licensed mechanic working with the company, who asked not to be identified, said the company had recently finished running background checks on employees.
"I think that was because of September 11," the mechanic said. "We didn't have September 11 before. That's why they didn't do anything before."
Bennett acknowledged that background checks and fingerprinting of employees were recently done by the company.
The mechanic said he had worked previously with some of the men arrested in Friday's raid. He said those detained included a man recently promoted, another who had just bought a new truck and a third who had gotten married just months ago.
"I feel sorry for the good people -- the good workers," the mechanic said. "They work for money. Everybody works for money and to put food on the table."
FYI BUMP
Wonder how many other airlines have illegals working as airplane mechanics.
Yeah.
Now they'll have to start paying higher wages - and benefits. Boo-hoo.
It's about time, but it's still too little too late!!
This guy ought to be arrrested and charged with aiding and abetting. Idiot.
The people in question were most likely line people responsible for fueling, towing, general clean-up etc.
All work done on an airplane must be signed off by a FAA licensed mechanic.
NeverGore
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