Casey
02-09-2006, 03:03 PM
Terror hoax suspect extradited
Wire services
El Universal
February 08, 2006
The man faces up to eight years in prison for spreading false information about a terror attack.
SAN DIEGO - A Mexican man accused of making up a story about terrorists plotting a nuclear attack on Boston has been extradited to San Diego, officials said.
José Ernesto Beltrán Quiñonez pleaded not guilty Monday to federal charges of passing on false information about a terror attack and lying to federal officials. He faces up to eight years in prison if convicted.
The alleged hoax resulted in federal warnings, a massive investigation, discussions at President George W. Bush´s security briefing and a nationwide hunt for a group of Chinese supposedly involved in the attack.
"What a huge waste of resources," said Dan Dzwilewski, head of the San Diego FBI office. "It took hundreds and hundreds of man-hours here and across the country. The threat that he laid out had to be taken seriously until it was validated or discounted."
Beltrán was arrested Saturday in Mexicali, a border city about 120 miles (190 kilometers) east of San Diego, and turned over to FBI agents in Mexico City on Sunday, Dzwilewski said.
He is accused of calling California Highway Patrol dispatchers on Jan. 17, 2005, to report that a nuclear warhead would be smuggled within four days through a tunnel connecting Mexicali and Calexico, California. Beltrán allegedly said he had smuggled four Chinese chemists and two Iraqis into the United States and that they planned to put the warhead in Boston.
Beltrán allegedly promised to toss documents over the border fence to support his claim. The FBI says a package found at the location contained travel documents belonging to Chinese nationals and bore Beltrán´s fingerprint.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Louisa Porter set a bail hearing for Wednesday.
http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/miami/16911.html
Wire services
El Universal
February 08, 2006
The man faces up to eight years in prison for spreading false information about a terror attack.
SAN DIEGO - A Mexican man accused of making up a story about terrorists plotting a nuclear attack on Boston has been extradited to San Diego, officials said.
José Ernesto Beltrán Quiñonez pleaded not guilty Monday to federal charges of passing on false information about a terror attack and lying to federal officials. He faces up to eight years in prison if convicted.
The alleged hoax resulted in federal warnings, a massive investigation, discussions at President George W. Bush´s security briefing and a nationwide hunt for a group of Chinese supposedly involved in the attack.
"What a huge waste of resources," said Dan Dzwilewski, head of the San Diego FBI office. "It took hundreds and hundreds of man-hours here and across the country. The threat that he laid out had to be taken seriously until it was validated or discounted."
Beltrán was arrested Saturday in Mexicali, a border city about 120 miles (190 kilometers) east of San Diego, and turned over to FBI agents in Mexico City on Sunday, Dzwilewski said.
He is accused of calling California Highway Patrol dispatchers on Jan. 17, 2005, to report that a nuclear warhead would be smuggled within four days through a tunnel connecting Mexicali and Calexico, California. Beltrán allegedly said he had smuggled four Chinese chemists and two Iraqis into the United States and that they planned to put the warhead in Boston.
Beltrán allegedly promised to toss documents over the border fence to support his claim. The FBI says a package found at the location contained travel documents belonging to Chinese nationals and bore Beltrán´s fingerprint.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Louisa Porter set a bail hearing for Wednesday.
http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/miami/16911.html