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..sECRET-'

MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD

Event: Interview o~... ---,

Date: November 6,2003

Special Access Issues: none

Prepared by: Quinn John Tamm, Jr.

Team Number: 1A

Location: FBI Newark Field Division, Newark, New Jersey

Participants-Commission: Dietrich SneJl, Michael Jacobson, Quinn John Tamm, Jr.

FBI Representative: Robert Stuart Sinton I

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~Special Agend ' Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),
Newark, New Jersey Field Division was assigned the Newark Field Division of the FBI in
December 1997. He presently assigned to Cr~min~t Squad 20, a squad that investigates
international terrorism. J /

~n July 20021 Iw~

assigned to investigate Mohammed el-Atriss. EI-
Atriss operated a business known as "All'Services Plus, Inc." This business sold identification
cards known as "USA Identification Caf(~s,'1 and "International Driver's Licenses." Hijackers
Hani Hanjour and Abdulazzi al-Ornari had purchased this form of identification from el-Atriss.
The case of el-Atriss had previously been assigned to Special Agen4 I\vhen Mr.
I t.~ok res onsibilit for the cas¢,pl-~triss was in Egypt~.:in the custody of the Egyptian
secunty services. xplained that el-Atriss had found out through the public
media that his"'QUSlnesses In aterson, Newi.Iersey and Elizabeth, New Jersey had been searched
by law enforcement authorities as ': rt of ~ investi ation of errorism. EI-Atri w nt

[eves t at el-Atriss holds dual citizenship. The FBI agent

:':,/to e - tnss t at an arrest Warrall~ had been'issued for him in New Jersey. EI-Atriss was turned
...
,/,/ over to Egyptian authorities and held for ~WQ weeks, before he was permitted to return to the
,/,/ United States. The Egyptians provided afsummary of.their interrogation of el-Atriss. When el-
l::": Atriss arrived in the United ..States on 08/Zli2002, he-was arrested by the U.S. Customs Service,
/'::/ and returned to Passaic County, NeW.,j~r$~j to face-fraud charges. The FBI did not have any
// contact with el-Atriss, and he was heip\o~ $250,QOO bail. Later, a second "secret" hearing was
:/:: held concerning el-Atriss' bail, and it \YMiraise9:io $500,000.

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cst Istated that the FBI had intended to approach el-Atriss and attempt to
convince him to cooperate, and provide information, in on-going investigations in the Arab and
Muslim communities in Paterson, New Jersey. Because of the charges in Passaic County, which
were br1uebt by tbe Sheritf and County Prosecutor, it was not possible to use el-Atriss in this
manner.. ~tated that el-Atriss changed lawyers, and eventual1y pled guilty to
. greatly reduced charges for which he received five years probation and a $5,000 fine. He had
been held in custody for six months.

cui !was asked if he knew what information was used in the "secret"
.hearing in the Supenor Court of New Jersey, to increase el-Atriss' bail from $250,000 to
$500,000J lstated that the information was provided to the Passaic County
Sheriffs Department by the FBI. Specifically, the Sheriff's Department had been told that el-
Atriss was previously involved in a business known as Sphinx Trading in Jersey City, New
Jersey. The business was operated by Walid Nour, as a check cashing exchange and a cash
transfer service. At one time, this business had as a customer, Ornar Abdel al-Rahnan, the Blind
Sheik. Because of this tenuous connection to a convicted terrorist, el-Atriss' bail was doubled by
a Superior Court judge.

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