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Supposed links to terrorism revealed Wednesday, June 25, 2003 tUfcxi

By JENNIFER V. HUGHES STAFF WRITER He had a list of names of Sept. 11 hijackers, taken from the Internet and underlined. There were his supposed ties to a Jersey City business used by terrorists in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and to the company's owner, a suspected terrorist. And there was a cryptic fax that mentioned jet airplane parts. That was some of the evidence presented by authorities during a secret court hearing seven months ago in an effort to keep a Paterson businessman - initially charged with selling IDs to two of the hijackers behind bars. The 80 pages of transcripts were released Tuesday. But Mohamed EI-Atriss, who has since pleaded guilty to the document charges, continued to insist he has nothing to do with terrorism and has simple answers for every allegation. "I'm very sad that I was held for six months based on this information," EIAtriss said Tuesday during a news conference. His lawyer blasted the allegations. "Nothing was corroborated.... It illustrates the danger and irreparable harm of secret evidence," said Clifton attorney Miles Feinstein. Authorities, however, said the transcripts, revealed after news outlets sued for their release, speak for themselves in a case in which EI-Atriss was held for months on unusually high bail. EI-Atriss, 46, of Union, was sentenced to probation, a fine, and time served for the six months he spent in the Passaic County Jail before he was released in February. He admitted selling "simulated" documents to two of the Sept. 11 hijackers from his Market Street office, All Services Plus, not knowing their plans. But while he was jailed, state Superior Court Judge Marilyn Clark took the almost unprecedented step of holding the secret hearing, taking testimony from a sheriff's detective. Afterward, the judge doubled EI-Atriss' bail to $500,000. Most of the allegations come as the detective cites information he said he received from conversations with FBI agents. The transcripts also shed light on tensions among law enforcement agencies over the case. Passaic County Sheriff Jerry Speziale went to arrest EI-Atriss on July 31 with the news media in tow, not knowing EI-Atriss was on a planned trip to Egypt. Afterward, federal authorities said Speziale had thwarted an

TIMELINE Sept. 19, 2001: FBI agents visit Mohamed EI-Atriss at his Paterson store, and he provides them with credit card receipts and records of his transactions with the hijackers. Spring 2002: Passaic County sheriff's officers begin Investigating EI-Atriss after patrol officers stop drivers and find they were using international licenses supplied by EI-Atriss' business. July 31, 2002: Passaic County sheriff's officers raid EI-Atriss' Paterson and Elizabeth businesses, not knowing he had left several days earlier on a trip to Egypt with his family. Aug. 20, 2002: EI-Atriss returns to the United States and is arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. He had learned he was wanted by watching news reports of his case on television, and tried to turn himself in at the American embassy but was turned away. He turned himself in to Egyptian authorities and spent 11 days being questioned before he was released. Nov. 19, 2002: State Superior Court Judge Marilyn Clark hears evidence in secret from a Passaic County sheriff's officer. After the 90-minute proceeding in her court chambers, she doubles EIAtriss' bail to $500,000. January 2003: EI-Atriss' lawyer files papers seeking to have the bail reduced or the secret evidence revealed. The state cites national security and says releasing the information would jeopardize the "safety of the general population." Feb. 4, 2003: EI-Atriss pleads guilty to selling "simulated documents," in a deal that will bring five years of probation, a $15,000 fine, and credit for the six months he served in the county jail. He is freed later that night on $50,000 bail. April 10, 2003: Media outlets, including

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4 Transcripts Are Released in Case Tied to 9/11 Hijackers

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STARBUCKS.CQM SPOHSBSEDW

June 25,2003

4 Transcripts Are Released in Case Tied to 9/11 Hijackers By ROBERT HANLEY and JONATHAN MILLER

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ATERSON, N.J., June 24 — The North Jersey man who admitted he sold fake identification cards to two Sept. 11 hijackers has been out of jail since March. The month before, Passaic County prosecutors agreed to a plea deal and five years' probation for the man, Mohamed el-Atriss, even though they had testified in closed hearings that he might have links to terrorists. But today, those insinuations, which had kept Mr. Atriss in jail for nearly six months, were revisited as the judge released the transcripts of four secret bail hearings, including testimony and suggestions about his possible links to terrorists. That testimony included claims that Mr. Atriss, a 46-year-old native of Egypt, may have had contact with two more hijackers, in addition to the two he admitted selling fake ID'S. In the first of the hearings, on Nov. 19, the testimony was compelling enough to prompt Judge Marilyn C. Clark to raise Mr. Atriss's bail to $500,000 from $250,000. Once Judge Clark released the transcripts today, federal authorities and Mr. Atriss himself quickly dismissed the importance of the evidence. The United States attorney for New Jersey, Christopher J. Christie, said through a spokesman that he and the Federal Bureau of Investigation were satisfied long ago that Mr. Atriss was not a security danger and had no ties to the 9/11 hijackers beyond unwittingly selling them false documents. Mr. Atriss and his lawyer, Miles R. Feinstein, called a news conference to rebut the testimony point by point. Bill Maer, a spokesman for the Passaic County sheriffs office, would not comment on whether the testimony should still be considered valid. The sheriff, Jerry Speziale, issued a statement saying that his office had acted appropriately in pursuing the case and that the transcripts spoke for themselves. County and federal officials have feuded over the case since Mr. Speziale's detectives raided Mr. Atriss's document business and home in July 2002. The newly released documents make those icy relations clear. Several news organizations, including The New York Times, The Washington Post and The StarLedger of Newark had sued for the release of the transcripts, and Judge Clark agreed this month. According to the transcripts, Fred Ernst, a detective in Sheriff Speziale's criminal investigations section, offered several reasons for the $500,000 bail sought by the Passaic County prosecutor's office. Among them were:

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6/25/03