Feds Arrest Three 'Buffalo Six' Relatives

Fox News ^ | 12/17/02 | AP

[hoosierskypilot]

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Three relatives of a man accused of belonging to an al-Qaida terror cell in the Buffalo suburb of Lackawanna were arrested Tuesday and charged with illegally operating a money transferring business.

Investigators have been unable to trace any of the money to terrorist activities, said U.S. Attorney Michael Battle.

Mohamed Albanna, 51, a leader in the area's Yemeni community and an uncle of a man still being hunted by U.S. authorities, was seized by Customs and Drug Enforcement Administration agents in the doorway of his Buffalo store, the Queen City Cigarettes and Candy Co.

His younger brother, 29-year-old Ali Albanna, and a 52-year-old cousin, Ali Taher Elbaneh, also were arrested.

All three were indicted by a federal grand jury on a charge they sent more than $480,000 to Yemen without a license to operate a money transferring business, which is required by state law. Federal prosecutors also said the business was not registered with the U.S. Department of Treasury as required by federal law.

All three pleaded innocent at their arraignment in front of U.S. District Judge Hugh Scott. If convicted, they face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

[Professional]

More Trent Lott racism. I hope these guys all get a free farm out of this.

By tomorrow, we'll hear how "nice" these people are, and how American they are. Just peaceful immigrants trying to live the American dream, etc., etc.......

[wita]

I know sarcasm when I see it. Let them buy the farm, why should they get it free?

[dennisw]

Tuesday, December 17, 2002

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Three relatives of a man accused of belonging to an al-Qaida terror cell in the Buffalo suburb of Lackawanna were arrested Tuesday and charged with illegally operating a money transferring business.

Investigators have been unable to trace any of the money to terrorist activities, said U.S. Attorney Michael Battle.

Mohamed Albanna, 51, a leader in the area's Yemeni community and an uncle of a man still being hunted by U.S. authorities, was seized by Customs and Drug Enforcement Administration agents in the doorway of his Buffalo store, the Queen City Cigarettes and Candy Co.

His younger brother, 29-year-old Ali Albanna, and a 52-year-old cousin, Ali Taher Elbaneh, also were arrested.

All three were indicted by a federal grand jury on a charge they sent more than $480,000 to Yemen without a license to operate a money transferring business, which is required by state law. Federal prosecutors also said the business was not registered with the U.S. Department of Treasury as required by federal law.

All three pleaded innocent at their arraignment in front of U.S. District Judge Hugh Scott. If convicted, they face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Scott ordered the men held until a hearing Wednesday. Federal prosecutors asked that the Albannas, described as the principal operators of the business, each be jailed on $100,000 bond. The prosecutor asked for $20,000 bond on Elbaneh.

Philip Marshall, a lawyer for Mohamed Albanna, said his client has been a U.S. citizen for 27 years, has lived in western New York since 1970 and has not left the country for 20 years. For that reason, he maintains his client is not a flight risk.

Federal prosecutor Timothy Lynch said the men sent the money out of the country between October and December. He said Mohamed Albanna has been transferring money illegally for two to three years.

During a series of raids Tuesday, $130,000 was confiscated from Mohamed Albanna's bank account and another $51,000 from his cigarette and candy business.

The Albannas' nephew, Jaber Elbaneh, an alleged member of the Lackawanna cell, was last reported at large in Yemen, according to U.S. officials.

Six other men from Lackawanna, all Yemeni-American men in their 20s, were arrested in September and charged with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Prosecutors say they visited an al-Qaida training camp in Afghanistan in spring 2001 attended by Osama bin Laden.

Mohamed Albanna has been the face of the Lackawanna Yemeni community and an outspoken advocate for the men since they were arrested in September. He has rallied the community, attended every hearing and continuously proclaimed their innocence.

"It's very disappointing to me. The gentleman has portrayed himself on local TV shows and around the nation as a community activist," Lackawanna Mayor John Kuryak said hours before Albanna's arrest.

The alleged leader of the Lackawanna cell, Yemeni-American Kamal Derwish, was believed killed in a CIA airstrike on Nov. 3 in Yemen, U.S. officials have said.

The six men now in custody could get up to 15 years in prison if convicted under a 1996 law that prohibits giving support to foreign terrorist organizations.

[Steelerfan]

$51,000 (it is not clear from the story, but it appears it could be in cash) from a candy and cigarette business? Nice to know somebody is having a good year.

[DCPatriot]

Ali Albanna? Ali Elbaneh?

Nevermind... ;^)

[dennisw]

The convenience store biz is EXCELLENT in Lackawanna, eh? He likely was ringing up a lot of transactions on a phony cash register that didn't tally up for the taxing authorities of New York State. Way this scam works is you use an honest cash register some of the time and the scam register at other times. By now there are probably ways of hacking an electronic cash register so you can just flip a switch so some transactions get recorded and some don't.

Haven't you ever wondered why immigrants tend to gravitate towards "cash businesses"?

[thinking]

Yes, I have wondered about this...the Koreans at the 7-11 and the Indians with run down Motels....

Years ago my wife worked at a bank...one day she said to me, why do the Indians (eastern types) visit their safety deposit boxes 4 to 5 times a day?...

[FITZ]

Pretty interesting. I know some hotels being run by immigrants only want cash too.

[dennisw]

I know some hotels being run by immigrants only want cash too.

The name of the game is to report some transactions, even cash transactions. While the bulk of what you take in, in cash, is not reported. Dummy cash registers and hacked electronic cash registers are how it's done.

[dennisw]

Yes, I have wondered about this...the Koreans at the 7-11 and the Indians with run down Motels....

15 years ago my sister lived in MidTown Manhattan. She often went to the Korean deli around the block and got increasingly peeved that when she bought something they wouldn't even ring it up on the cash register. They just made change from a drawer underneath the cash register. Her solution was to say all the time "Ring it up I need a receipt".