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HICAGO, June 10 — The man suspected of plotting a radioactive bomb attack, a Brooklyn-born Hispanic Catholic who converted to Islam when he married a Middle Eastern woman, had a lengthy criminal record in two states. The record started with an arrest in connection with a murder when he was a teenager, according to law enforcement officials and court records.In 1985, the man, born Jose Padilla to Puerto Rican parents but later known as Abdullah al-Muhajir, told the police that after his friend stabbed a stranger in a Chicago alley, Mr. Padilla, who was 14, kicked the victim in...

The former leader of the Fort Lauderdale mosque where Jose Padilla worshiped said Sunday that the terrorism suspect's transformation to extremism probably came after he left South Florida for Egypt.Raed Awad, who served as imam of Masjid Al-Iman from 1994 to 2000, said Padilla was eager to learn more about Islam and had won a scholarship to Al-Azhar University in Egypt.''There are programs at universities in Egypt where converts can go and study about Islam and learn Arabic,'' Awad said. ``The plane ticket to fly over there is only a couple of hundred dollars. I myself have studied in Egypt.''Awad,...

The dirty nuke bomb plotter whose arrest last month in Chicago was announced on Monday has a rap sheet that included convictions for two murders before he was out of his teens as well as prosecutions for other serious crimes - all before he joined al Qaeda to fight against America. When he was just 13, Abdullah al Muhajir - aka Jose Padilla - was arrested in 1983 on a robbery charge, reports ABC News.com. He was given probation. From there Muhajir became a one man crime wave. By the time cops caught up with him again in 1985,...

'Dirty Bomb' Suspect Not Cooperating, Wolfowitz SaysTue Jun 11, 8:39 AM ETWASHINGTON (Reuters) - A suspected American al Qaeda operative accused of plotting a radioactive "dirty bomb" attack on the United States has not yet given authorities information on his associates, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said on Tuesday. Photos Reuters Photo Slideshows Audio/Video (Reuters) Wolfowitz also said Abdullah al Muhajir, a U.S. citizen of Puerto Rican descent, and his accomplices had additional al Qaeda-directed plans to harm Americans. "He came into this country with the intention, by various means, not just the dirty bomb idea, of killing hundreds and...

AP/Excite – Red Reuters/UK – Purple Washington Post – Blue Washington Times – Aqua Chicago Sun Times – Orange Fox News – Olive UK Guardian – Pink NY Post – Grey Philadelphia Inquirer – Green AP/Netscape (Drudge) - Brown ****************************** 1970 - New York – Born Jose Padilla in New York 10/18/70 1974 – Chicago - Moved to city with his family 1975 – Chicago - Moved to city from NY with family when 5 yrs old 1975 – Chicago – Moved to city from Brooklyn with family when 5 yrs old; attended Charles R Darwin grammar school 1985...

<p>EMBROKE PINES, Fla. - The American citizen suspected of planning to detonate a radioactive bomb worshiped and studied Islam at a local mosque known by authorities to have been frequented by a number of Muslim extremists.</p> <p>The Darul Uloom Institute is one of South Florida's largest and most liberal Islamic centers, but center leaders say its size and reputation may be attracting extremists who want to avoid attention.</p>

'DIRTY BOMB' SUSPECT CAN BE HELD INDEFINITELYPress Association Mon Jun 10 2002 20:21:02 ET The US citizen accused of plotting to detonate a radioactive dirty bomb in Washington faces an uncertain future in military custody. Abdullah Al Mujahir has been moved from a civilian jail to a high-security US Navy prison in South Carolina after officials determined he was an "enemy combatant" who posed a serious and continuing threat to Americans. But a US Justice Department official said there are no plans to make him face a military tribunal set up for alleged terrorists because these are only for non-Americans....

Mayor Daley blasted the FBI on Tuesday for keeping the Chicago Police Department in the dark about a former Chicago gang member-turned-al-Qaida-operative who was arrested at O'Hare Airport last month for allegedly plotting to attack the United States with a radioactive "dirty" bomb. Daley said he can't understand why Chicago police were asked to assist in the May 8 arrest of Jose Padilla but never told what the arrest was about. "You criticize the Chicago Police Department. You should criticize the CIA and the FBI. They're not sacred cows. For them to never inform the Chicago Police--don't you trust anybody...

<p>The White House yesterday angrily denied suggestions that the administration revealed the capture of a "dirty bomb" suspect to deflect criticism of federal law enforcement.</p> <p>"These very few people who want to make such outlandish political accusations represent the most cynical among the most partisan, and they're not to be taken seriously," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.</p>

<p>Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy, Kennedy had a secretary named Lincoln, and Terry Lynn Nichols had a wife named Padilla.</p> <p>The latter bit of news has put conspiracy theorists on heightened alert.</p> <p>For years, a small, devoted group has been trying to prove that the nation's second-deadliest terrorist attack -- on the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City -- was carried out not just by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols but also by a vast network of Muslim extremists.</p>

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