This is the town I grew up in with a population of only 100K and my grandkids live there. Too close to home. This story sounds way too familiar - like the other terriorists that died.

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Man arrested in C.R. one of 93 to face charges Posted at 7:53 on 11/29/2001 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A man living in Cedar Rapids who was arrested after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is one of 93 people listed by the U.S. Justice Department as facing criminal charges.

Youssef Hmimssa was arrested in Cedar Rapids two weeks after the terrorist attacks, but no evidence has been released connecting him to terrorist activity.

Hmimssa, 30, has a federal court appearance scheduled for Thursday in Detroit, said Gina Balaya, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney for Michigan’s Eastern District. A judge is expected to hear routine motions filed by Hmimssa’s defense attorney, Balaya said.

Hmimssa’s trial on charges of possessing false identification documents is set for January.

The judge in the case has issued a gag order barring public comment by prosecution and defense attorneys. Hmimssa is from Morocco, according to his defense attorney.

The FBI arrested Hmimssa May 23 in Chicago on credit card fraud charges but released him pending trial on the condition he meet regularly and cooperate with Secret Service agents investigating the case. He dropped out of sight in early June, moving to a Detroit house he shared with two other men.

FBI agents found a false passport and Social Security card in the name of Michael Saisa when they raided the rented house in Detroit on Sept. 17. The passport bore Hmimssa’s photo. Agents also found a day planner with notes regarding an American military base in Turkey, ‘‘the American foreign minister,’’ and the airport in Amman, Jordan.

Hmimssa used the alias Michael Saisa when he rented an apartment in Cedar Rapids at 1717 C Ave. NE in July. At the time, he was under indictment in Chicago for credit card fraud. The indictment alleges Hmimssa, who entered the U.S. through O’Hare International Airport in 1994 with a fake French passport under the name Patrick Vuillaume, used his computer expertise to create counterfeit credit cards. The cards bore numbers provided by an accomplice who worked as a waiter in a suburban Chicago restaurant.

A companion who remains unidentified paid Hmimssa’s apartment deposit and first month’s rent, according to Robert Dickson, who manages the building. Hmimssa told Dickson he worked out of his apartment troubleshooting software for a Chicago company.

Dickson called the FBI’s terrorism hotline after spotting Hmimssa’s photo on an ‘‘America’s Most Wanted’’ broadcast on the investigation.

Hmimssa’s name was among 93 people listed by the Justice Department as facing criminal charges. Federal authorities continues to withhold 11 names whose criminal complaints have been sealed.

Another 538 people are held on immigration violations, according to the list made public Tuesday by Attorney General John Ashcroft.

-- Anonymous, November 29, 2001

Answers

Beckie, now you have some idea how I felt after learning that the hi-jackers where here in S. FL for so long, living amongst us for all that time.

-- Anonymous, November 29, 2001