June 2009 Archives

A Newton man who moderated a website devoted to child pornography and sex with children was sentenced today to 90 years in federal prison for his convictions on six counts of advertising child pornography, one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography, Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph J. Marra, Jr., announced.

Going into the sentencing today, Russell Christie, 51, faced a sentence of up to 30 years under the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. However, following testimony today from a woman, now 28, who for a decade was a victim in her childhood of severe sexual abuse by Christie, U.S. District Judge Harold A. Ackerman increased Christie's sentence to 90 years in prison, as permitted under the Sentencing Guidelines. There is no parole in the federal system, so Christie's sentence is effectively a life sentence.

Christie was a moderator of the North American Man Girl Love Association (NAMGLA) website. A jury convicted Christie on Nov. 24 of the eight child pornography-related counts following a two-week trial before Judge Ackerman.

"This individual and others who trade in child pornography are very often not content to just remain at their computer monitors," said Marra. "They seek to act out their fantasies and prey on young children. Clearly, our communities and our children are safer as a result of the sentence imposed in this case."

"It is fair to say," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Weysan Dun, "that the crimes Russell Christie facilitated on his website likely contributed to the denigration and destruction of many childhoods throughout the world. We cannot give the victims back their innocence, but what we have done is ensure that this man will never see another day of freedom. Society can take comfort in knowing that Russell Christie will never have the opportunity to hurt or exploit another child again."

Russell Christie has been in continuous custody since July 2006 when he was arrested by Special Agents of the FBI for his involvement as a moderator of the NAMGLA website. The website, which had a membership of several hundred individuals across the country and throughout the world, was a repository for hardcore child pornography, including explicit pictures and videos. Besides being a moderator for the site, Christie, was also its most prolific contributor, making in excess of 2,500 posts between October 2005 and June 2006.

The defendant and his mother owned and ran the Green Valley Beach Campground in Newton for several years. There, Christie worked in the candy store and served as a lifeguard. He also drove the local elementary school bus.

In a post-arrest statement to FBI agents in July 2006, Christie admitted to sexually abusing a 9-year-old girl for years throughout approximately the 1990s. Law enforcement officers confirmed that Christie did indeed sexually abuse the girl, plying her with alcohol and drugs, including cocaine and heroin, and showing her adult and child pornography to induce her to have sex with him. The girl, now 28, testified today before Judge Ackerman, leading the judge to make the legal findings that dramatically increased his sentence.

At trial, FBI agents testified that Christie had one of the largest collections of child pornography they had ever seized, including over 500 individual CDs containing child pornography. The defendant, who is unmarried and without children, also kept a box of children's toys in his home. Christie's posts to the NAMGLA website included young girls performing oral sex on adult males, photographs of children being raped, and written posts about becoming aroused while changing a baby's diaper.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lee Vartan and Nancy Hoppock.

Marra credited Special Agents of the FBI for the investigation leading to the prosecution of Russell Christie.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Justice

A Broward County jury, after a week long trial, today awarded a driver, paralyzed when his 18-Wheeler overturned, $14.6 million after two days of deliberations. Derry Brown, Jr., 64, of Pakohee, Florida was paralyzed in the May 31st, 2007 accident on State Road 80 just east of Lion Country Safari.

"What Mr. Brown did that day was nothing short of heroic," said his attorney Robert W. Kelley who tried the case with his partner, Todd Falzone. "I think the jury understood that Derry's choice to swerve that day saved the other driver's life," said Kelley.

The initial accident occurred two years ago when the driver of a vehicle that never stopped, ran a stop sign and cut off Mr. Brown, who was hauling a load of sugar in his 1998 Freightliner truck. "If Derry hadn't decided to sacrifice himself that other driver would surely be dead," said Falzone. Instead, the Freightliner swerved off the road and overturned and Derry was severely injured.

Initially his own insurance company, National Casualty Company, refused to pay, forcing Mr. Brown to file suit against the company for uninsured motorist benefits to help find a way to cover the costs of the mounting medical bills. The huge verdict against National Casualty could have been avoided if the company had promptly stepped-up to the plate and paid the benefits when due, according to Kelley. But Kelley said the insurance company denied coverage to Mr. Brown forcing him to file suit and go to trial. Shortly before the trial began, Circuit Judge Cheryl Aleman, ruled that Mr. Brown was entitled to the Uninsured Motorist benefits under the National Casualty Policy. The company is expected to appeal.

Because of his medical condition, Mr. Brown who is currently undergoing rehabilitation at the Florida Institute for Neurological Rehabilitation in Wachula was unable to attend the majority of the trial. He was however air-lifted to the Broward County courthouse, along with his medical team, for his one day of trial testimony, and was represented in court by his wife Dorothy Mae Eaddy and his granddaughter, Gabrina Campbell.

Robert W. Kelley and Todd R. Falzone are trial attorneys in the law firm of Kelley / Uustal, PLC. The firm, which believes in justice for all, is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with offices located at Courthouse Law Plaza, 700 S.E. 3rd Avenue, Floor 3. Additional information about Kelley / Uustal may be obtained from the firm's website at www.justiceforall.com.

SOURCE Kelley Uustal PLC

On the day her trial was to begin in U.S. District Court in Lubbock, Texas, Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (ALKQN) member Marie Chavez, aka "Shorty," the wife of an alleged ALKQN leader Jose Nava, aka "Chino," pleaded guilty to a superseding indictment charging her and 16 co-defendants with various offenses related to alleged narcotics and weapons trafficking and violent activities, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas James T. Jacks.

Specifically, Chavez, 28, of Lubbock, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and 100 kilograms or more of marijuana; and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. She faces a maximum statutory sentence of not less than 10 years and up to life in prison. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled. Chavez has been in custody since her arrest in December 2008.

According to documents filed in court, Chavez admitted that from 2001 until the time of her arrest, she and co-defendants, Jose Robledo Nava, aka "Chino" (her husband); Luis Nava, aka "Flaco"; Reynaldo Nava, aka "Rat"; Robert Allen Ramirez, aka "Nesyo"; Carol Ann Rivas Nava; Cecily Dominique Juarez; Jesus Martinez, aka "Solid"; David Hellums, aka "CutThroat"; James Johnathan Cole, aka "Blitz"; Eduardo Daniel Mares, aka "Pitt"; Gabriel Lee Gonzales, Michael Conde, aka "Psycho"; Guerrero Olivas, aka "Screech"; John Guzman; Hiluterio Chavez, aka "Zeus"; and Eliseo Perez, aka "Wicked"; and others agreed to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana.

Chavez today admitted that in furtherance of the conspiracy she was responsible for at least 50 kilograms, but less than 150 kilograms of cocaine, and at least 100 kilograms, but less than 400 kilograms of marijuana. Chavez further admitted that she and her co-defendants intentionally and knowingly possessed with the intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana, and distributed cocaine and marijuana to others. According to the indictment, they acquired the cocaine and marijuana from Mexico and brought it to the South Texas region, where it was packaged, stored, and transported to Big Spring, Texas, Lubbock, and Midland, Texas, for further distribution.

Chavez today admitted that she transported, divided, packaged, distributed and stored cocaine and marijuana throughout North Texas and that she would send cash to other co-conspirators in furtherance of this conspiracy. She further admitted that on Dec. 13, 2008, she and co-defendants Jose Robledo Nava, Reynaldo Nava and Carol Ann Rivas Nava knowingly and intentionally possessed with intent to distribute 500 grams or more, but less than five kilograms, of cocaine.

Chavez is the tenth defendant in the case to plead guilty. Others who have pleaded guilty include:

Jesus Martinez, aka "Solid," 28, of Midland

John Guzman, 30, of Big Spring

Hiluterio Chavez, aka "Zeus," 33, of Chicago

Eliseo Perez, aka "Wicked," 28, of Mission, Texas

Luis Nava, aka "Flaco," 25, of Midland

Reynaldo Nava, aka "Rat," 27, of Big Spring

Carol Ann Rivas Nava, 20, of Big Spring

Cecily Dominique Juarez, 20, of Midland

Guerro Olivas, aka "Screech," 26, of Big Spring

The indictment also alleged that from 2004 through mid July 2005, defendants Jose Robledo Nava, Jesus Martinez and Hiluterio Chavez conspired to deal in firearms. Last month, Jesus Martinez and Huluterio Chavez pleaded guilty to conspiring to engage in the business of dealing firearms.

Jose Robledo Nava is allegedly the ALKQN leader in Texas. He, along with James Johnathan Cole, Robert Allen Ramirez, Gabriel Lee Gonzales and Eduardo Daniel Mares are charged in the indictment with the May 4, 2008, murders of Valerie Garcia and Michael Cardona, in Big Spring.

The case is being investigated by the National Gang Targeting, Enforcement, and Coordinating Center (Gang TECC); the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF); the Midland and El Paso U.S. Attorney's Offices; the FBI; the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the El Paso Intelligence Center; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; the U.S. Marshals Service; the Texas Department of Public Safety; the Lubbock, Midland, Houston, San Antonio and Big Spring, Texas, Police Departments; the Lubbock County Sheriff's Office; and the Howard County, Texas, District Attorney's Office.

Source: US Dept. of Justice

Shattering the warm and fuzzy image that has sustained German toymaker Steiff GmbH for over a century, a longtime Steiff employee has brought a lawsuit against the company's chief executive officer, accusing him of a five-year campaign of sexual harassment and intimidation, including outright sexual assault in the passenger seat of his wife's car.

The complaint, filed in New York State Supreme Court, details a pattern of uninvited and unwelcome hounding by Martin Frechen, 40, CEO of Steiff since 2006 and previously chief executive of the company's North American operations, where the alleged harassment began two years earlier.

The claims have been brought by Jane Collins, now 32, who began working at Steiff in 2000 as a temporary receptionist and has since risen to become an assistant marketing manager, responsible for creating custom special products for some of the company's largest customer retail accounts in the U.S. Ironically, Ms. Collins was at one time Mr. Frechen's executive assistant, considering him both a mentor and a friend.

In addition to the lawsuit, Ms. Collins has filed a separate complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination - Steiff's U.S. operations are based in Raynham, Mass., outside Boston.

The claims are in striking contrast to the public image of Mr. Frechen, who serves as the human face of Steiff, regularly posing with the company's adorable stuffed animals at toy shows and in the media. In addition to alleging that the CEO stalked and propositioned her personally, Ms. Collins recounts numerous instances where Mr. Frechen made sexually-charged comments in front of groups of employees, as well as discussing visits to strip clubs.

As if her CEO's behavior was not disturbing enough, Ms. Collins further charges that her appeals for help to Steiff's current head of U.S. operations, James Pitocco, were dismissed, minimized, or met with unhelpful suggestions such as to modify her appearance or avoid wearing "cute dresses."

Upon learning of Ms. Collins' distress at having to work with her former boss when he returned to the U.S. as companywide CEO, Mr. Pitocco allegedly responded, "Don't tell me any more -- the less I know the better." Mr. Pitocco, 51, is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit, as is Steiff's U.S. operations, Steiff North America Inc.

Steiff, headquartered in Giengen, Germany, was founded in 1880 by Margarete Steiff, an enterprising dressmaker with a love of children, whose very first creation was an elephant-shaped pincushion made of felt. The company remains private and family-owned by a small group of shareholders, including Margarete Steiff's heirs.

Steiff today manufactures an extensive line of high-quality stuffed animals -- elephants, tigers, giraffes, lions, monkeys and, best-known of all, variations of the iconic Steiff Teddy bear. All of its branded animals carry the company's well-known "button in ear", and Steiff also sells animal key chains and other trinkets. In addition to its worldwide reputation for distinctive and high-priced toys treasured by collectors as well as children, Steiff is revered in its native Germany. Its motto: "Only the best is good enough for children."

Despite its worldwide renown, Steiff remains a small, close-knit company with only a handful of full-time employees in the U.S., plus a larger number of sales representatives. A number of incidents cited in Ms. Collins' complaint took place in New York City and are subject to New York State and City human rights laws.

Steiff also does substantial business in New York through its sales to major retailers and toy shops, as well as its regular appearances at the annual Toy Fair Show each February. Indeed, to ensure that Mr. Frechen would be personally served in the U.S., he received service of Ms. Collins' pending complaint while visiting FAO Schwarz's flagship store on Fifth Avenue, recently purchased by Toys "R" Us.

Ms. Collins and Mr. Frechen both worked at the company's Raynham, Mass. facility from 2000 to 2004, when he returned to Germany to join another company. That opportunity apparently did not last long and Mr. Frechen was soon back at Steiff, this time as chief executive of the entire firm.

Although Mr. Frechen's new position was based in Germany, the long distance allegedly did not prevent him from calling Ms. Collins repeatedly and, during his periodic business trips to the U.S., pursuing and harassing her as he had done prior to his departure.

From Executive Assistant to Victim

Ms. Collins, who resides in Fall River, Mass. and holds an associate's degree in early childhood education, was originally hired at Steiff's Raynham facility in 2000 as a receptionist and company phone operator. Significantly, she notes, she never received an employee handbook and has never been aware of such a document existing at Steiff, including any protocols for reporting and responding to complaints of sexual harassment.

When Mr. Frechen arrived with his family in 2002 to become CEO of Steiff North America Inc., Ms. Collins was reassigned as his executive assistant. In Ms. Collins' current position as assistant marketing manager, she is a liaison to many of the company's major retail accounts and shares responsibility for product development, advertising materials and communications between the company's German and American offices. She has received consistently positive reviews and commendations for her dedication and work, as well as merit-based bonuses.

According to her complaint, Ms. Collins' and Mr. Frechen's relationship was thoroughly professional until he began preparing to return to Germany in 2004 to join another company outside the toy industry. The professional demeanor Mr. Frechen had maintained with his executive assistant completely disintegrated in September 2004, Ms. Collins' complaint alleges, as the time approached for him to leave both the U.S. and Steiff.

Misconduct at Hotel, Assault in a Shipping Container

Outlined in the complaint, Mr. Frechen first tried to make sexual contact with Ms. Collins in 2004 during a Steiff corporate event in a Plymouth, Mass. hotel where Steiff employees were staying. After asking her to accompany him to his room to retrieve some papers, Mr. Frechen confided in Ms. Collins that his wife and young son were out shopping. He then hugged and forcefully attempted to kiss Ms. Collins, which she resisted. According to Ms. Collins, Mr. Frechen's only comment on his sudden pass at her was that this was their "goodbye," as they would no longer be working together; beyond that, he neither apologized nor explained his actions.

Later that evening, Mr. Frechen approached Ms. Collins at a hotel event and invited her to meet him behind a nearby gas station, which she also refused. The exchange was overheard by one of Ms. Collins' colleagues, whom she later asked to accompany her when she left the hotel out of apprehension over Mr. Frechen's intentions.

Ms. Collins claims that her boss's overtures grew far more aggressive days later, as Mr. Frechen made final preparations to return his family's possessions to Germany. After asking Ms. Collins to arrange for a shipping container to transport his wife's car, a Volkswagen Golf, to Europe, Mr. Frechen invited Ms. Collins to lunch, to which she reluctantly agreed.

Instead of heading to a nearby diner, Mr. Frechen drove to a warehouse where the shipping container was located, under the pretext of determining if the car would fit inside. According to the complaint, once the car was enclosed in the storage unit, Mr. Frechen shut the container door, returned to the car and, suddenly positioning himself on top of Ms. Collins, raped her. As he fumbled with his trousers and tried to undress her, he maneuvered to push the passenger seat back to the prone position. Ms. Collins fiercely resisted the much stronger Mr. Frechen, who repeatedly told her, "It is okay." Bizarrely, after raping Ms. Collins, Mr. Frechen confessed to her that it was the first time he had cheated on his wife.

Too fearful of the consequences to report the incident, Ms. Collins began keeping a journal shortly after the assault in an effort to clear her thinking and calm her nerves. Her earliest entries explain in part her hesitancy about informing on Mr. Frechen either to the police or to anyone at Steiff. "Even if I tell anyone no one will believe me," Ms. Collins wrote on October 22, 2004, shortly after the attack in the storage container. "I am so scared I will lose my job. I need to put food on my table."

Five years later, in an interview, Ms. Collins reflects back on her decision: "I was a single mom at the time and I simply couldn't afford to lose this job. He wasn't just my boss, he was the head of the company. It's only more recently that I've come to accept the fact that he raped me. Before, I had put it out of my mind because I thought there was nothing I could do and he was leaving the country."

Continued Harassment - New Boss Shrugs His Shoulders

Mr. Frechen continued to call Ms. Collins from Germany, and she allowed herself to discuss her promotion to assistant marketing manager with him. After he invited her to meet him in Boston on one of his business trips, however, she decided to stop taking his calls completely.

Mr. Pitocco, then newly installed as CEO of Steiff's U.S. operations, noticed Ms. Collins' reticence about talking to her former boss. After learning some details of Mr. Frechen's harassment of Ms. Collins, Mr. Pitocco failed to initiate an investigation; indeed, Ms. Collins claims he strove to separate himself from any responsibility over the matter.

On another occasion, Ms. Collins claims that Mr. Pitocco pressured her to accompany Mr. Frechen on a shopping excursion during one of his U.S. visits. According to Ms. Collins, Mr. Frechen insisted she carry his shopping bags to his hotel room, whereupon he pulled her inside, though she was able to get away without further incident.

Significantly, Ms. Collins claims that Mr. Pitocco never informed her that she could safely report Mr. Frechen's misconduct without fear of retaliation. In fact, the company appeared to have no codified expectations for employee behavior or protocols for reporting harassment at all. The complaint states that Steiff, despite "earning millions of dollars annually in the U.S., made zero annual investment in the training of its employees in the recognition and reporting of sexual harassment in the workplace."

Company's Heritage Undermined

Ms. Collins's attorney, Christopher Brennan of the New York law firm of Ziegler, Ziegler & Associates LLP, says, "Steiff is a company with a long and proud heritage and an exalted status in the toy industry. It is astounding that a business whose principal products are meant to evoke joy and comfort would exhibit such a lack of sensitivity and accountability to issues raised by a loyal and hard-working employee, especially given the egregious nature of Ms. Collins' allegations and the number of occasions on which she tried to inform her direct supervisors that there was a problem with Mr. Frechen. Steiff was founded by a woman, but sadly a culture of chauvinism and permissiveness has allowed the harassment and degradation of a female employee who once loved and believed in the company."

Mr. Frechen has made semi-annual business trips to the U.S. for toy fairs and strategic meetings over the last several years, endeavoring to see Ms. Collins on each occasion and resuming his aggressive and suggestive posture toward her.

This past February, while the company's employees stayed at New York's Crowne Plaza Hotel during the annual Toy Fair, Mr. Frechen constantly phoned Ms. Collins' room and hounded her in person with requests for her to have drinks with him. At one point Mr. Frechen grabbed Ms. Collins' cell phone and used it to call his own mobile phone, thereby programming her number into his phone. He later followed her off a hotel elevator, asking about her boyfriend and whether she would consider having sex outside that relationship. According to Ms. Collins, Mr. Frechen then called her a "scaredy cat" because of her continued reluctance to meet with him alone.

Ms. Collins told Mr. Pitocco about the latest pressure she felt from Mr. Frechen during Toy Fair. Once again Mr. Pitocco brushed aside her concerns, dismissing them as overblown. When she asked him to keep Mr. Frechen out late in the evening so that he would not have time to proposition her, Mr. Pitocco replied that he would not "cover" for her.

Ms. Collins wrote in her journal about her boss's cavalier attitude over her concerns: "I would like to know what Jim [Pitocco] thinks, I have been telling him all along to keep [Mr. Frechen] away from me. Why does he only laugh it off?"

For Ms. Collins, it became clear that her future with the company was bleak.

Fundamental Workplace Protections Lacking

Frustrated by the lack of results from her repeated discussions with Mr. Pitocco, Ms. Collins ultimately reported Mr. Frechen's harassment to the Steiff head of human resources in the U.S., who asked her to record the events on paper. Still, an investigation was not initiated until Ms. Collins took the step of obtaining legal counsel.

When a female member of the Steiff family -- and one of the company's shareholders -- became aware of Ms. Collins' report of sexual harassment, she contacted Ms. Collins to offer sympathy and support. "Be prepared that ignorance of material makes people be unsupportive," the woman wrote in an e-mail. "There will be people who...are afraid to be as strong as you...or are so old fashioned they can't grasp that standing up is the only thing to do." However, Ms. Collins says that once she had retained a lawyer, the Steiff family member stopped speaking to her about her claims.

Ms. Collins said in a recent interview, "After I made a written report of the sexual harassment, I asked an employee of the company based in Germany if Martin had sexually harassed her also. She told me yes. My colleague confided that for years Martin had pressured her to have sex with him and she was repeatedly required to rebuff his advances. My colleague asked me how I knew she was being harassed also, and I told her that there was something in her face when I saw Martin around her. She said he tried the same thing with her, over there. Like her, I tried for so long to get him to stop, but he wouldn't listen and no one at the company helped me. I loved it here and I was ready to spend my whole career at Steiff, but my love for the company was completely taken from me."

Through her action, Ms. Collins is asking the court to ensure that Steiff take steps to end its violations of New York State and City human rights laws, and to ensure that any further harassment by Mr. Frechen cease. She is also seeking compensatory and punitive damages stemming from Mr. Frechen's actions and from the company's negligent hiring and retention of its two chief executives.

"It saddens me to bring a formal action against Steiff," Ms. Collins says. "I have spent nearly the last nine years of my life here and cannot easily imagine working anywhere else. I adore the company's line of Teddy Bears and have made lifelong friends with many of my colleagues. Unfortunately, I felt I was preyed upon by the one person I should have been able to trust and look up to the most. His ongoing behavior -- and the company's unwillingness to take any actions in response to my complaints -- left me no choice but to retain Ziegler, Ziegler & Associates on my behalf to file suit, in hopes that Steiff's workplace culture can once again reflect the wonderful image of the company's products."

SOURCE Ziegler, Ziegler & Associates LLP

On the day that President Obama holds his first summit with Saudi Arabian King Abdullah in Riyadh, the 9/11 Families United to Bankrupt Terrorism charged that recent actions by his administration would enable five of the king's closest relatives to escape accountability for their role in financing and materially supporting the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. In response to the administration's action, the 9/11 families released allegations made in 2002 of the Saudi royal family's sponsorship and support of al Qaeda that the families believe have been ignored by the Obama Administration.

On May 29, the president's top lawyer before the Supreme Court, Solicitor General Elena Kagan, filed a brief arguing that it would be "unwarranted" for the Supreme Court to even hear cases brought by the 9/11 families charging that five Saudi princes knowingly and intentionally provided financial support to al Qaeda waging war on America. By urging the high court to not review lower court decisions dismissing these cases, the Obama Administration took the side of the Saudi princes over thousands of family members and survivors of the 9/11 attacks seeking justice and accountability in U.S. courts.

"This is a betrayal of our fundamentally American right to have our day in court," said Mike Low of Batesville, Ark., father of Sara Low, an American Airlines flight attendant who died on board Flight 11. "It sacrifices the principles of justice, transparency, accountability and security, which our case embodies, in order to accommodate the political pleadings of a foreign government on behalf of a handful of members of its monarchy."

"With this filing, the Obama Administration has constructed a convoluted legal rationale to justify a political decision to curry favor with the Saudi royal family," said Ron Motley, counsel for the 9/11 families. "However, the legal straw house they built collapses with the faintest breeze of logic, legal analysis, or common sense."

"We trust that the Supreme Court, after it has reviewed the law, the facts and the evidence, will reject the Obama Administration's wrongheaded opinion and agree to give the 9/11 family members the day in court they deserve," Motley said.

To illustrate both the injustice of the Obama Administration's Supreme Court filing and the many holes in its legal reasoning, the family members released the specific allegations they originally made on what the princes did to provide financial and material support to Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda and the Taliban in the years and months leading up to September 11, 2001.

Specifically, the families' lawsuit alleges that:

• Prince Turki al Faisal al Saud, past head of Saudi intelligence, coordinated Saudi financial and logistical support for al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and the Taliban. In July 1998, Prince Turki brokered an agreement between these parties in which the Saudis provided al Qaeda and the Taliban with generous financial assistance in exchange for a pledge by bin Laden and the Taliban that al Qaeda would not attack the Saudi royal family.(1)
• Prince Mohamed al Faisal al Saud headed the Islamic bank Dar al Maal al Islami, which provided global financial services and financing to al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.(2)
• Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz al Saud, whose responsibilities included overseeing Islamic charitable funding in Saudi Arabia, funded al Qaeda through personal contributions to Islamic charities known to support bin Laden and his terrorist organization.(3)
• Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz al Saud, who has long supported Palestinian suicide bombers, provided pay-off money to al Qaeda. His oversight of al Qaeda front charity al Haramain allowed it to support bin Laden and al Qaeda unabated.(4)
• Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz al Saud has a long history of funding Islamic extremists through his work as chairman of the General Donation Committee for Afghanistan. In this capacity, Prince Salman made substantial personal contributions to al Qaeda front charities with the full knowledge the charities were misappropriating funds and involved in terrorist activities.(5)

(More detailed allegations are contained in the attached chart.)

In the face of these allegations, Motley charged that the legal flaws in the Obama Administration's filing are all the more egregious.

For example, the solicitor general concedes that the Saudi princes as individual officials are not entitled to immunity under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA). But even though the government has never previously expressed any notion of offering the Saudi princes any immunity for their alleged terrorist involvement, the administration urges that the Supreme Court should nonetheless treat the Princes as though they are immune anyway because of vague "non-statutory principles articulated by the Executive." This makes clear the Obama Administration is more concerned with the foreign relations consequences of making the Saudi princes answer for their donations to al Qaeda than with allowing the 9/11 families their fair day in court to address the princes' accountability for their conduct.

Moreover, even if the Saudi princes knowingly and intentionally gave money to al Qaeda waging war on America, the solicitor general argued that does not qualify for the "domestic tort exception" to sovereign immunity because the Saudi Princes did not give their money "within the United States." The solicitor general says it is not enough if the Saudis gave money to al Qaeda only from abroad. According to the solicitor general's argument, in order to strip immunity from the Saudi princes, "the foreign state's act or omission -- not that of any third party -- must occur in the United States."

The solicitor general further argues that U.S. courts cannot exercise personal jurisdiction over the Saudi Princes who gave money to al Qaeda because they were not "primary wrongdoer[s]" -- according to the solicitor general -- as they engaged in only "indirect funding of al Qaeda." But excusing the princes as not "primary wrongdoers" is in direct conflict with a recent Seventh Circuit ruling in the terror litigation context.(6) In this case, known as Boim v. Holy Land Foundation, the Seventh Circuit held that all those who donate money to known terrorist groups are themselves engaging in terrorism -- and thus "primary violators" subject to "primary liability" under the Anti-Terrorism Act section 2333. Boim further cautioned: "Nor should donors to terrorism be able to escape liability because terrorists and their supporters launder donations through a chain of intermediate organizations. Donor A gives to innocent-appearing organization B which gives to innocent-appearing organization C which gives to Hamas. As long as A either knows or is reckless in failing to discover that donations to B end up with Hamas, A is liable."(7)

The administration filing's bottom line, according to Motley, is that an official of any foreign country not "designated as a state sponsor of terrorism" is immune from suit as long as that official gave money "outside the United States" to terrorists -- even where those terrorists are waging a declared war causing massive death and destruction inside the United States. "This is an absurd misinterpretation of the law that, if carried to its logical extreme, could let all of al Qaeda's bankrollers off the hook," Motley charged. "If allowed to stand as the Obama administration's brief urges, the lower court's decision would allow terrorist financiers to stand at the borders of our nation providing all means of terrorist support, while snubbing their noses at our time honored judicial system of accountability."

The plaintiffs further allege that "Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda have publicly and proudly proclaimed direct responsibility for [prior] multiple atrocities in furtherance of international terrorism. Direct attacks on Americans intensified in 1998 after Osama bin Laden issued this 'fatwa,' stating: 'We -- with God's help -- call on every Muslim who believes in God and wishes to be rewarded to comply with God's order to kill the Americans and plunder their money wherever and whenever they find it.'"(8)

Motley said he was especially shocked that the solicitor general justified not holding foreign officials who give money to the 9/11 terrorists to account in an American court by repeating the same error made by the late District Judge Richard Conway Casey and the Second Circuit when they ruled plaintiffs' well-pleaded allegations were "inadequa[te]" and "conclusory" to show the Princes knew that they were funneling money to al Qaeda. "This is utter nonsense," Motley said, noting the specific detail of the allegations made, all of which allegedly show that the princes gave money to al Qaeda waging declared jihad on America, knowing that al Qaeda was targeting death and destruction on America.(9)

"What the solicitor general and the lower courts ignore is that the plaintiffs brought this suit to hold the defendants -- a handful of royals, other financiers, bin Laden, al Qaeda, and certain charities, banks and other organizations they own and control -- responsible for this insidious form of terrorism which cloaks itself behind the face of royal state titles and legitimacy," Motley said.

Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network do not exist in a vacuum, he explained. They could not plan, train and act on such a massive scale without significant financial power, coordination and backing.(10)

Select sources reporting Saudi Arabia is an important funding source for Islamic Extremism:

• United States Congress Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and United States Congress House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Joint Inquiry into Intelligence Community Activities before and after the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001: Report of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and U.S. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Together with Additional Views.
• Terrorist Financing. Report of an Independent Task Force Sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations, October 2002. Available at www.cfr.org/pdf/Terrorist_Financing_TF.pdf and Update on the Global Campaign Against Terrorist Financing. Second Report of an Independent Task Force on Terrorist Financing Sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations, June 15, 2004. See www.cfr.org/pdf/Revised_Terrorist_Financing.pdf.
• Hearing Before the Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia of the Committee on International Relations House of Representatives One Hundred Eighth Congress Second Session March 24, 2004 Serial No. 108-109.
• International Affairs: Information on U.S. Agencies' Efforts to Address Islamic Extremism, GAO-05-852 (Washington: D.C.: United States Government Accountability Office, Sept. 2005).
• Iraq Study Group (U.S.), et al. The Iraq Study Group Report. 1st authorized ed. New York: Vintage Books, 2006.
• Testimony of Lee S. Wolosky Partner, Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs September 18, 2007.
• U.S. State Department 2007 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report.
• Testimony of U.S. Department of the Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart A. Levey before the Senate Finance Committee, April 1, 2008.
• H. R. 1288 Saudi Arabia Accountability Act of 2009 111th Congress 1st Session.

              Allegations that the Saudi Princes Named as Defendants
               Provided Financial and Material Support to al Qaeda

    Source: Third Amended Complaint, Thomas E. Burnett, Sr., et al. vs. Al
    Baraka Investment & Development Corporation, et al., Case No. 03-CV-9849
    (GBD) as consolidated in In Re: Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001,
    Case No. 03-MDL-1570 (GBD), paragraphs 340, 344-346, 348-350.
    This can be viewed at www.motleyrice.com/terrorism/relevant_documents.asp.

    TAC Paragraph,    Specific Allegation
     Page
    97-99, pp.        Prince Mohamed al Faisal al Saud was the CEO of the
     244-245; 342,    Islamic bank Dar al Maal al Islami ("DMI") which
     p. 309; 364,      provided financing and financial services to al Qaeda
     p. 315

    340, p. 309       Prince Turki al Faisal al Saud had an ongoing
                       relationship with Osama bin Laden from the time that
                       they first met in Islamabad, Pakistan at the Saudi
                       embassy, during the Soviet Union's occupation of
                       Afghanistan.

    342, p. 309-310   Prince Abdullah al Faisal bin Abdulaziz al Saud,
                       Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz al Saud and Prince Salman
                       bin Abdul Aziz al Saud

                       have provided material support to Osama bin Laden and
                       al Qaeda. They also aided, abetted and materially
                       sponsored OBL and al Qaeda

    344, p. 310       Prince Turki, who headed the Royal Families
                       intelligence service for 25 years and met personally
                       with Osama bin Laden at least 5 times, guided the
                       Saudi intelligence service to provide substantial
                       financial and material support to the Taliban in or
                       about 1995.

    345, p. 310       Al Qaeda financier Mohammed Zouaydi had close
                       financial ties to Prince Turki and Prince Mohammed al
                       Faisal.

    346, pp. 310-311  According to a senior Taliban official, Prince Turki
                       was the facilitator of money transfers to the Taliban
                       and al Qaeda.

    347. p. 311       In 1996, a group of Saudi princes met with prominent
                       Saudi businessmen in Paris and agreed to continue
                       financially contributing and otherwise supporting
                       Osama bin Laden's terrorist network.

    348, p. 311       In July of 1998, a meeting occurred in Kandahar,
                       Afghanistan that led to an agreement between certain
                       Saudis and the Taliban. The participants were Prince
                       Turki, the Taliban leaders, and senior Pakistani
                       intelligence officers of the ISI and representatives
                       of Osama bin Laden. The agreement reached stipulated
                       that Osama bin Laden and his followers would not use
                       the infrastructure in Afghanistan to subvert the
                       royal families' control of Saudi government. In
                       return, the Saudis would make sure that no demands
                       for the extradition of terrorist individuals, such as
                       Osama bin Laden, and/or for the closure of terrorist
                       facilities and camps. Prince Turki also promised to
                       provide oil and generous financial assistance to both
                       the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan. After the
                       meeting, 400 new pick-up trucks arrived in Kandahar
                       for the Taliban, still bearing Dubai license plates.

    349, p. 311       Prince Turki was instrumental in arranging a meeting
                       in Kandahar between Iraqi senior intelligence
                       operative, the Ambassador to Turkey Faruq al-Hijazi,
                       and Osama bin Laden, in December of 1998.

    350, p. 311       Saudi Intelligence, directed by Prince Turki until
                       August 2001, served as a facilitator of Osama bin
                       Laden's network of charities, foundations, and other
                       funding sources.

    354, p. 312       Prince Sultan has been involved in the sponsorship of
                       international terrorism through the IIRO and other
                       Saudi-funded charities.

    357-358. p. 313   King Fahd set up a Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs,
                       headed by his brother Prince Sultan to centralize,
                       supervise and review aid requests from Islamic
                       groups. This council was established to control the
                       charity financing and look into ways of distributing
                       donations to eligible Muslim groups. Consequently, as
                       Chairman of the Supreme Council, Prince Sultan could
                       not have ignored the ultimate destinations of
                       charitable funding, and could not have overlooked the
                       role of the Saudi charitable entities identified
                       herein in financing the al Qaeda terrorist
                       organization.

    359, pp. 313-314  Despite that responsibility and knowledge, Prince
                       Sultan personally funded several Islamic charities
                       over the years that sponsor, aid, abet or materially
                       support Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda: the
                       International Islamic Relief Organization (and its
                       financial fund Sanabel el-Khair), al-Haramain, Muslim
                       World League, and the World Assembly of Muslim Youth.
                       Despite that responsibility and knowledge, Prince
                       Sultan personally funded several Islamic charities
                       over the years that sponsor, aid, abet or materially
                       support Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda: the
                       International Islamic Relief Organization (and its
                       financial fund Sanabel el-Khair), al-Haramain, Muslim
                       World League, and the World Assembly of Muslim Youth.

    360, p. 314       Prince Sultan's role in the IIRO's financing is of
                       significance. Since the IIRO's creation in 1978,
                       Prince Sultan participated by donations and various
                       gifts to the charity. In 1994 alone, he donated
                       $266,652 to the Islamic International Relief
                       Organization. Since 1994, the amount funneled by
                       Prince Sultan into IIRO is reported to be $2,399,868.
                       Prince Sultan's role in directly contributing to and
                       in the oversight of IIRO evidences his material
                       sponsorship, aiding and abetting of international
                       terrorism. Prince Sultan maintains close relations
                       with the IIRO organization headquarters and knew or
                       should have known these assets were being diverted to
                       al Qaeda.

    361-362, p. 314   Prince Sultan is also a regular donator to the World
                       Assembly of Muslim Youth ( "WAMY"). WAMY was founded
                       in 1972 in a Saudi effort to prevent the "corrupting"
                       ideas of the western world influencing young Muslims.
                       With official backing it grew to embrace 450 youth
                       and student organizations with 34 offices worldwide.
                       WAMY has been officially identified as a "suspected
                       terrorist organization" by the FBI since 1996 and has
                       been the subject of numerous governmental
                       investigations for terrorist activities.

    370-371, p. 317;  Prince Abdullah al Faisal is the majority owner of
     372-373, p. 317   Alfaisaliah Group, also known as al Faisal Group
                       Holding Co. According to FBI records 9/11 hijacker
                       Hani Saleh H. Hanjour, his brother Abdulrahman Saleh
                       Hanjour, living in Tucson, Arizona, and 9/11 suspect
                       Abdal Monem Zelitny had registered addresses in Taif,
                       Saudi Arabia that correspond with an Alfaisaliah
                       Group branch office.

    374-375, p. 317   Prince Abdullah al Faisal's accountant in Jeddah,
                       Saudi Arabia was Defendant Muhammed Galeb Kalaje
                       Zouaydi, convicted in Spain for financing al Qaeda
                       operations in Europe. Zouaydi set up Spanish
                       companies established during the time he was staying
                       in Saudi Arabia and working for Prince Abdullah al
                       Faisal, between 1996 and 2000. Zouaydi laundered
                       Saudi money through Spain to an al Qaeda cell in
                       Germany. Eye witnesses place Zouaydi in Prince
                       Abdullah al Faisal's office in Jeddah.

    381, p. 319       Prince Naif, who has a long history of supported for
                       Palestinian suicide martyrs and Palestinian terrorist
                       organizations, has provided material support to al
                       Qaeda, including providing monetary payoffs to al
                       Qaeda.

    382, p. 319       Prince Naif, who is the Saudi Minister of Interior and
                       heads the Saudi Committee for Relief to Afghans,
                       supervised the activities of Defendant charity Al
                       Haramain Foundation, which materially supported al
                       Qaeda and the Taliban.

    392-399, pp.      In 1993, Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz al Saud founded
     321-323           Saudi High Commission charity. The charity's Bosnian
                       offices were found to have sponsored al Qaeda members
                       and materially supported al Qaeda.

    400, pp. 323-324  Prince Salman has a history of funding Islamic
                       extremism. In 1980, Prince Salman was named Chairman
                       of the General Donation Committee for Afghanistan.

    401, p. 324       In 1999, Prince Salman made a donation of $400,000
                       during a fund-raising event organized for Bosnia
                       Herzegovina and Chechnya by Defendants International
                       Islamic Relief Organization, World Assembly of Muslim
                       Youths, and Al-Haramain Foundation.

    404-407,          Despite evidence of misappropriation of charitable
     pp.324-325        funds by directors of the Saudi High Commissions
                       Bosnian chapter, Prince Salman knowingly failed to
                       take appropriate action regarding the management and
                       distribution of funds.

(1)Third Amended Complaint, Thomas E. Burnett, Sr., et al. vs. Al Baraka Investment & Development Corporation, et al., Case No. 03-CV-9849 (GBD) as consolidated in In Re: Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001, Case No. 03-MDL-1570 (GBD), paragraphs 340, 344-346, 348-350. This can be viewed at www.motleyrice.com/terrorism/relevant_documents.asp.

(2)TAC paragraphs 97-99, 242, 244-245, 364.

(3)TAC paragraphs 354, 357-362.

(4)TAC paragraphs 342, 381-382.

(5)TAC paragraphs 392-401, 404-407.

(6)See Boim v. Holy Land Found., 549 F.3d 685 (7th Cir. 2008) (en banc).

(7)Id. at 701-702.

(8)TAC, p. 12.

(9)TAC.

(10)TAC.

SOURCE 9/11 Families/Burnett vs. Al Barak