Suspected Terrorist Resided, Worked in Punta Gorda
by Christy Arnold
The Sun and Weekly Herald [Florida newspaper]
October 2, 2001
PUNTA GORDA -- Suspected terrorists may have silently mingled alongside residents of Charlotte County.
Prior to the Sept. 11 attacks, the terrorists allegedly linked to Osama bin Laden reportedly were shopping at a grocery store, buying pilot headsets, sending e-mails, working in a restaurant, and purchasing money orders in Punta Gorda.
Early Tuesday morning, the Sun learned there were conflicting reports of suspected terrorist Mohamed Atta's alleged brief employment at Elena's South Restaurant in Punta Gorda last year.
Restaurant owner Elena Martinez said she hired Atta and another man they called "Paris" as a dishwasher and a bus boy during the week of Thanksgiving in 2000.
However, Port Charlotte paralegal Jennifer Smaoui, said her husband, Fares, worked at the Punta Gorda restaurant with his friend, Mohammed, during the same time period the owner claimed to have employed Atta.
Smaoui believes it is a case of mistaken identity.
"He (Mohammed) looks nothing like Mohamed Atta," Smaoui said.
Immediately following the terrorist attacks, Southwest Floridians learned that suspected terrorists Atta, 33, and Marwan Al-Shehhi, 23, reportedly took flying lessons at Huffman Aviation from July 6 to Dec. 12, 2000, said Rudi Dekkers, owner of the Venice flight school. Atta was believed to be at the controls of American Airlines flight 11, the first plane to crash into the World Trade Center.
Atta and Al-Shehhi acquired their multi-engine commercial license, Dekkers said.
Unconfirmed reports have surfaced placing Atta at The Shipping Post in Punta Gorda where he purchased money orders and at Publix in Burnt Store Square where he was seen shopping. His training partner, Al-Shehhi, allegedly left his mark at Charlotte County Airport where he reportedly purchased aviation equipment.
An employee at Eastern Avionics in Punta Gorda who asked not to be identified said Al-Shehhi purchased a pilot's headset through the company based at Charlotte County Airport. Al-Shehhi is suspected of piloting the second commercial airliner, United Airlines Flight 175, into the southern Twin Tower.
Eastern Avionics also reportedly received e-mails containing Arabic writing with references to Allah, the employee said.
The Sheriff's Office told reporters last week an unknown local business obtained a suspected terrorist's e-mail correspondence that contained numerous other e-mail addresses.
"What I saw was alarming, yes," said Charlotte County Sheriff William E. Clement.
One e-mail contained a photo from the Middle East of a dead child, Clement said. The four- to five pages of e-mails also included Arabic and English writing, he said.
Eastern Avionics Owner Jim Kantor refused to comment about the e-mail messages or the allegations that Al-Shehhi purchased pilot headsets.
Since the company is working with the FBI, Kantor said he couldn't confirm or deny the reports.
Aside from Elena's South Restaurant, Atta has reportedly been seen throughout southern Charlotte County during the last year.
Between July and August of 2001, Atta reportedly purchased several money orders at The Shipping Post in Punta Gorda, said owners Jean and Lee Waldorf.
Atta and another unidentified man purchased the $100 to $300 money orders with cash, Lee Waldorf told the Sun .
Jean Waldorf told the Associated Press she did not know how the money orders were spent or what they were for. She said Atta only bought U.S. Postal money orders, meaning they could only be cashed in the United States.
Waldorf said the receipts were sent to the local post office and did not carry any information on the person who bought the money orders or the individuals who cashed the orders.
Postal Service spokesman Gary Sawtelle said he could not immediately comment on the report.
While Atta was allegedly seen purchasing money orders between July and August, another Charlotte County resident reportedly witnessed Atta shopping at the nearby Publix in Burnt Store Square during the same time period he reportedly purchased money orders.
Anna Brookbank, owner of Treasure Island child care center in Punta Gorda, said she recognized Atta's picture when she saw it on television the day after the hijackings.
"I stopped dead in my tracks ... I knew I had seen him."
Seeing Atta's physique while watching security camera footage of him walking through Logan Airport before boarding his flight confirmed her suspicion.
She realized she had seen Atta shopping at the Publix in Burnt Store Square in Punta Gorda, sometime in August.
"He was walking up and down the aisle," she said. "He had a hand cart, a basket, and he was coming toward me ... I would say I saw him within five feet of me."
In addition, Atta may have, at one time, resided in the Punta Gorda-area and may have taken flying lessons at Charlotte County Airport, Clement said.
The Punta Gorda Police Department also has turned over "a half-dozen" pieces of information or leads to the FBI, said Chief Dan Libby .
Initial reports Monday indicated that Atta may have been washing dishes at Elena's South Restaurant in Punta Gorda during the Thanksgiving day holidays last year, said the owner Elena Martinez.
"It was a brush with evil that was quick," said owner Elena Martinez.
Atta and another unidentified man, whom Martinez called "Paris," worked at Elena's South for a total of 12 hours over two days over the Thanksgiving holiday last year.
The two men told Martinez last November they were taking flight lessons at Charlotte County Airport, Martinez said.
Atta and the other man only worked two days, earning $72 in cash. They reported to the restaurant Saturday -- two days after Thanksgiving -- and announced they were quitting. Atta and "Paris" left in a car with two other men Martinez was able to identify to the FBI, she said.
They told Martinez they had to quit for two reasons: They couldn't work because they were on student visas and they were headed to Venice because their Punta Gorda flight school was closing.
However, the Sun discovered early Tuesday morning that it may be a case of mistaken identity.
"My husband Fares (not Paris) worked there with one of his friends, Mohammed," Smaoui said. "She's (Martinez) going around telling people my husband is associated with the head of the terrorist organization or that he's a terrorist.
"She's going to be hearing from me one way or another."
Smaoui said her husband Fares and Mohammed worked at the restaurant for a few days during the Thanksgiving holiday last year. Fares -- like "Paris," as Martinez said -- was a bus boy, Smaoui said. And Mohammed -- like Atta, as Martinez said -- was a dishwasher while they attended Professional Aviation Inc. in Punta Gorda.
But the similarities end there, Smaoui said.
While Atta is reportedly 33 years old, both Smaoui's husband, Fares, and Mohammed are 21 years old.
The two are still attending flight school in Punta Gorda and are nearing completion, Smaoui said. They never went to Venice for flight school, she said.
"That made me so mad," Smaoui said.
This story contains reports from Staff Writer Garry Overbey and the Associated Press.
© Copyright 2001
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