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US: Ex-Prosecutor Should Be Convicted By DAVID RUNK DETROIT (AP) — A former federal prosecutor and an ex-State Department investigator wanted so badly to win convictions in the nation's first major terrorism trial after the Sept. 11 attacks that they broke the law themselves, a government attorney said Tuesday. "They crossed over the line from upholding the law to violating it," Eileen Gleason told jurors in closing arguments in the case against Richard Convertino and Harry Smith III. The two have pleaded not guilty to charges of obstruction of justice, making false declarations before a court and conspiracy. The defense...

DETROIT (AP) - The Justice Department is investigating possible misconduct by the lead prosecutor in the nation's first major post-Sept. 11 terrorism trial, according to a published report. U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Collins requested the investigation in November after discovering possible ethical violations involving Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Convertino, the Detroit Free Press reported Saturday, citing sources it did not name. The allegations include withholding evidence from defense attorneys and trying to convince a court employee to get confidential information about a prisoner, the newspaper said. Convertino said Collins is trying to destroy his reputation and career. "This is so untrue,...

<p>June 4, 2003 -- DETROIT - A jury convicted three of four Muslim men yesterday in the first terrorism-related trial stemming from the wave of arrests after the Sept. 11 terror 2001.</p> <p>Two of the four, Abdel-Ilah Elmardoudi, the alleged ringleader, and Karim Koubriti, both Moroccans, were found guilty of the most serious charges - conspiracy to provide material support for terrorism, a crime that can bring a 15-year jail sentence.</p>

<p>A jury convicted three of four Muslim men Tuesday in the first terrorism-related trial stemming from the wave of arrests after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.</p> <p>Two of the four, Abdel-Ilah Elmardoudi, the alleged ringleader, and Karim Koubriti, both Moroccans, were found guilty of the most serious charges -- conspiracy to provide material support for terrorism, a crime that can bring a 15-year jail sentence.</p>

<p>DETROIT — Three Arab immigrants were found guilty of conspiracy at a Michigan terror trial Tuesday -- two of conspiring to support Islamic extremists plotting attacks in the United States and the Middle East, and another of conspiring to engage in fraud.</p>

Federal Jury in Detroit Finds 1 of 4 Arab Immigrants DETROIT June 3 — A jury on Tuesday found one of four Arab immigrants guilty of conspiring to support Islamic extremists plotting attacks in the United States and the Middle East. Abdel-Ilah Elmardoudi, 37, was found guilty of two counts conspiracy to provide material support or resources to terrorists and another conspiracy count to engage in fraud and misuse of visas, permits and other documents. Farouk Ali-Haimoud, 22, was acquitted of all charges. Ahmed Hannan, 34, and Karim Koubriti, 24, were each acquitted on two fraud counts. The case, which...

<p>DETROIT -- If Abdel-Ilah Elmardoudi made a mistake after fleeing a credit-card scam charge in Minnesota in 2001, his lawyer said Tuesday, it was seeking help from a habitual liar who has falsely accused the former Minneapolis man of being a terrorist. William Swor, Elmardoudi's attorney, told a federal jury in Detroit on Tuesday that his client sought Youssef Hmimssa's help in obtaining false identification documents to evade authorities -- not to advance a terrorist plot.</p>

<p>"Yes, your honor," Youssef Hmimssa, 32, of Morocco, responded repeatedly as U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen asked him whether he was guilty of 10 crimes the government said he committed in Iowa, Illinois and Michigan in 2001.</p> <p>Hmimssa, who is in the United States illegally, pleaded guilty in an agreement that requires him to testify next week against four other men. By cooperating with federal prosecutors, Hmimssa avoided being charged with the others of conspiring to provide material support for terrorists, which could have resulted in a stiffer sentence.</p>