Am I Being A Bigot??

Check this news article and see if you think I am a bigot for noticing the names of the people involved.

http://www.kget.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=07DF2479-9085-4184-A7FA-...

Bakersfield man accused of espionage pleads not guilty

Posted 9/08/06
BAKERSFIELD - A Bakersfield man accused of selling government defense secrets and military equipment to Yemen pleaded not guilty Friday in a federal courtroom.

With helicopters circling overhead and L Street blocked off between 19th and 18th streets, the suspect was taken into the federal magistrate’s courtroom in arm and leg shackles.

Officials said the charges stem from between June 25, 2005 and Aug. 31 of this year, when Amen Ahmed Ali, 56, of Bakersfield allegedly received secret defense documents from an undercover government agent and then transferred the documents to an unrevealed source in the Republic of Yemen.

Ali answered the federal judge’s questions through an interpreter. When asked if he understood the four charges against him, he said “I don’t understand, but what can I do? If I’m convicted, I’ll deal with it.”

“It’s a very serious situation,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl Faller said. “It impacts national security and that’s why the FBI and our office so actively pursued the case and continues to pursue it.”

Faller said the four indictments carry a maximum 30 years in prison and $1.75 million in fines if Ali is convicted.

Ali and another man from Bakersfield, along with a Texas man were indicted Aug. 31 for allegedly dealing defense secrets and exporting military equipment.

The agencies involved in the investigation were the U.S. Attorney, FBI, Kern County Sheriff’s Department, Bakersfield Police Department, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Ali was arrested Thursday at his business, Cigarette World, in the Rosedale area for conspiring to deal defense secrets and export military equipment. The counts carry up to 10 years in prison and $1 million in fines.

Additionally, Ali is charged with conspiring with Abrahim A. Omer, 40, of Fort Worth, TX to ship military items to Yemen, which breaks Federal law.

Between Jan. 13, 2003 and Feb. 14, 2004 Omer and Ali shipped several military articles, including body amor and chemical protective suits, the indictments said.

Also charged with Conspiracy is Mohamed Al-Rahimi, 62, of Bakersfield.

Ali and Al-Rahimi received stolen government property and purchased military equipment they believed was stolen from the U.S. Army and shipped it to Yemen, the allegations say.

The charges are the result of a lengthy investigation, the spokesmen said.

Omer is scheduled to appear in a LA courtroom Friday.

“[While] inspecting a shipping container, [we] came across military items that had not been properly manifested or the proper documents otherwise given to the customs folks, and that's what sort of triggered this entire investigation,” California’s Eastern District’s U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott said at a Thursday press conference in Bakersfield.

The initial discovery, officials said, was made in 2003 by Immigration Customs Enforcement. The Bakersfield Police and Kern County Sheriff’s Department have been working alongside the FBI as part of the Joint Terrorism Task Force that started in 2001.

“Information sharing is something that we've learned that we have to do,” Sheriff Mack Wimbish said, “And I can tell you that it's working well in Kern County. This is a result of that and it's only going to improve and get better as we go.”

“The dragnet is out there looking, but it doesn't appear to be a hazardous type of situation,” BPD Chief Bill Rector said. “It's something that we take very seriously and we feel very gratified in terms of how this investigation has been conducted and the steps that we've taken to safe guard our country.”

Ali and Omer were arrested Thursday, but Al-Rahimi is still at large. Anyone with information is asked to call the Bakersfield FBI office at 323-9665.