Blood Money (page 7 of 7)

Guilty

Bell had always hated jury deliberations. It was the one part of a trial when events were out of his control. He could have gone back to his office and done some work, but instead he hung around the courthouse, for one day, then two, then three.

The deliberations were going on a lot longer than Bell liked. Based on the questions that were being sent in to the judge, Bell suspected the jury had been easily convinced on the lesser charges of fraud and smuggling, but was probably deadlocked on the critical question of "material support" for terrorism. So Mohamad Hammoud might have survived the questions about his Hezbollah connections all too well.

On the third day, a Friday, Bell heard shouts coming from the jury room. He felt a knot in his stomach. We've lost it, he thought. He would be known across the country as the prosecutor who blew the first major terrorism case after September 11.

Soon after, the jury returned with its verdict. One juror, a woman, had tears in her eyes. Bell assumed the shouting had to do with her. Hammoud was called to the courtroom, and the judge read through the list of charges and verdicts. Guilty. Guilty. ... And on the critical charge ... guilty. Bell felt a mix of relief and elation. Hammoud stared ahead blankly, knowing he would be going to prison for a very long time.

Outside the courthouse, reporters mobbed Bell. "We're not going to make a distinction between terrorists and those who fund terrorists," he declared. "Terrorist acts cannot be carried out without the help of those who fund them."

A few months later, Mohamad Hammoud was sentenced to 155 years in prison, maintaining his innocence all the while, claiming he was a victim of post-9/11 paranoia. Hammoud said that the jurors looked at him throughout the trial "like they hated me."

Federal officials hailed the case as a model for the urgent task of smashing terrorist cells in the United States. Bell and Fromme both received awards from the Justice Department and were personally congratulated by Attorney General John Ashcroft.

Bell left the U.S. Attorney's office soon after to become a partner in a major Charlotte law firm. Fromme is still at the Iredell County sheriff's department, and this past spring he was finally able to take his honeymoon -- seven years after getting married. Said Harb, meanwhile, was released after serving a reduced sentence; his current whereabouts are a well-guarded secret.

While the trial of Hammoud is over, the Charlotte Hezbollah terrorist case remains open. Five named defendants are still fugitives, and the FBI continues to hunt for them. Officials are particularly concerned about Mohamad Dbouk, Said Harb's contact in Canada. In recent testimony before Congress, U.S. Attorney Robert Conrad testified that Dbouk had applied five times to Hezbollah leaders to become a martyr by carrying out a suicide operation. Each time he was turned down, on the ground that he was too valuable to the group. No one knows if he's still trying.

Meanwhile, federal officials say they are monitoring suspected Hezbollah cells in several other U.S. cities.

Bob Fromme, for one, assumes that the danger is far from over. Just this past fall, he received a troubling call from an informant at JR's. Arabic men had shown up in vehicles with out-of-state plates -- and paid cash for large numbers of cigarettes.

From Reader's Digest - February 2004

 

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• Hezbollah's Imad Mugniyah: As Bad as Bin Laden
• This terrorist masterminded the murder of hundreds of Americans. Soon he could help Al Qaeda get the ultimate weapon.
• 
• Divided Factions in the Middle East
• A look at the divided factions of the Middle East.
• 
• The War Within Islam
• America can't save the world from radical jihadists. But brave Muslims can.
• 
• Who Financed 9/11?
• One family's quest to trace the money behind the murders.
• 
• Websites Assisting Terrorists: Let's Shut Them Down
• These websites are an invitation to terrorists.
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