FBI continues to probe man arrested in shoe bomb incident for possible terrorist connections
By Denise Lavoie, Associated Press, 12/26/01

BOSTON -- The FBI is still investigating whether a man who tried to ignite explosives in his shoes during a trans-Atlantic flight had ties to Osama bin Laden's terrorist network.

The FBI hasn't ruled anything out in its investigation of Richard C. Reid, including whether Reid has links to bin Laden, whether he was supported by other terrorist groups, or whether he acted alone in the incident Saturday aboard a flight from Paris to Miami, according to FBI sources.

During American Airlines Flight 63, Reid allegedly tried to touch a lit match to a fuse protruding from one of his shoes. Two flight attendants and several passengers grabbed him and used belts to strap him into his seat, while two doctors sedated him with drugs from an airplane medical kit.

The Boeing 767, carrying 197 people, was diverted to Boston with an escort of two fighter jets.

Two government officials, speaking only on the condition of anonymity, said Wednesday that some low-level prisoners in Afghanistan have identified Reid as an al-Qaida member who trained at Osama bin Laden's terrorist training camps in that country).

U.S. interrogators showed the prisoners photographs of Reid, and some said they had seen him. But the officials said they had not verified the prisoners' claims, and warned that the prisoners could be wrong, or lying to confuse or gain favor with their interrogators.

The chairman of the Brixton Mosque in London confirmed that Reid had attended the mosque at the same time as Zacarias Moussaoui, who is charged with conspiracy in the Sept. 11 attacks.

It is unclear whether Reid and Moussaoui ever met. The FBI in Boston would not comment Wednesday on any possible connection between the two men.

A former FBI agent in Boston said officials initially believed Reid was a deranged extremist who acted largely on his own. But he said authorities are still looking into any possible support he may have received from organized terrorist groups.

"The guy appears to be a wannabe terrorist," said the agent, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

"He's not the kind of guy (a terrorist group) would put on a plane with any kind of direction. They'd be worried that he would do exactly what he did -- act abnormally. He defies the whole profile of a terrorist -- he's disheveled, he is calling attention to himself."

Tanya DeGenova, a former FBI agent who headed the counterterrorism squad in Boston, said it will require a painstaking, multinational investigation to determine whether Reid was connected to bin Laden's group or any other terrorist group.

"You want to make sure you have his true identity, then you want to determine his connections and try to retrace his steps prior to this trip (from Paris to Miami) to see whether he met with someone and whether he was tasked by someone else to carry out a mission," DeGenova said.

"The most important thing would be to place him in a (terrorist) cell and identify that, whether it's in Sri Lanka, London, or somewhere else, and then go from there."

Reid is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Boston Friday for a bail hearing.

Federal prosecutors will ask to continue holding him without bail. They said they will argue that he is at risk to flee the country and a danger to society.

Reid is now charged only with intimidation or assault of a flight crew, but the FBI said additional charges are likely. The current charge carries a maximum 20-year sentence.

Reid is being held at the Plymouth County House of Correction in a cell segregated from the rest of the inmates.

Timothy Bane, chief deputy of the U.S. Marshal Service in Boston, said Reid remained under a 24-hour suicide watch Wednesday.

"It's just out of an abundance of caution that we're keeping him under watch," Bane said.

After his arrest Saturday, French officials initially said they thought Reid -- who has also used the names Tariq Raja and Abdel Rahim -- was from Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, however, said he was not a Sri Lankan national.

George Fergusson, consul general for the British Consulate in Boston, said Reid's British passport appears to be valid. It says he was born in the United Kingdom.

Investigators have not identified the type of explosive material found in devices in Reid's sneakers, but preliminary FBI tests determined the devices were functional.

A source familiar with the preliminary tests who spoke on condition anonymity said the substance could have been a plastic explosive other than C-4, which was used in the deadly October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen.

Bottom Line Personal, November 16, 2001

page 9 under section: Heard by our editors

"Suspicious activity to watch out for, from security consultant Tanya DeGenova. People you don't recognize sitting for long periods in a car in your neighborhood...strangers loitering by your office building taking notes, making sketches or asking questions. Someone with a bulge under his/her coat-especially in large crowds, on subways, etc.- which could indicate weapons possession. Important: Report suspicious activity to the police. Describe the people -height, weight, age, hair, and clothing color and bags they carried. If possible, take the car's license plate number. And: Do not open, shake or move packages or open large envelopes if you're not familiar with the sender.

Tanya DeGenova, former FBI agent, is president of TSD Security Consulting Group, Inc. Boston. www.tsdconsulting.com"

She doesn't believe that airlines, vendors and others who work at Logan Airport do thorough background checks because of the cost of a good one. For $1,000 to $2,000, a thorough background check includes criminal checks, interviews with neighbors, friends, co-workers, family and more."When I left in 1997 I know each airline and vendor was responsible for having their own background checks done," DeGenova said. "They don't want to spend that kind of money. You can go to the Internet and find someone to do a background check for $100. But it's not thorough."DeGenova also thinks airport security employees should be looked at. Most of them make minimum wage, have limited education and many have not lived in the United States for long."Things happen and then we get lax (with security)," she said. "To hijack four airplanes there definitely has to be a coordinated effort in place. These guys were trained to fly, I don't think a commercial airline pilot would do this. In my experience, we don't think like that in the Western world. To get these airplanes they had access. It's devastating."DeGenova said the FBI will be working overtime for the near future weeding out leads, helping coordinate various state and federal agencies involved in investigations, search and rescue. She said every piece of Logan Airport, from people to surveillance films and vehicles will be looked at and firm leads should be developed by today."All U.S. agencies come together when there is worry about the country's infrastructure. This is a huge effort, one of the largest the FBI will ever encounter," DeGenova said.

WWW.SALEMNEWS.COM

You might say she's like Nancy Drew, Angela Lansbury and Jodie Foster all rolled into one, but when you meet Tanya DeGenova, you'll find out she's her own woman with an incredible past that's suitable for a James Bond flick.

She was born to a French mother and Russian father in Casablanca, Morocco.

Her family moved to Syracuse, N.Y., so her father could teach at the university there. Not knowing where she wanted her life to take her, she enrolled at Syracuse University and graduated with a degree in French literature.

"I wanted to be a teacher. Then an interpreter. Then I went off to scuba dive in the Caribbean," DeGenova said. On her return, she was offered a job teaching Russian to military personnel. She went on to Georgetown University to study international relations. Based on her fluency in French and Russian and her grasp of German she became an interpreter. But a class action lawsuit changed her future.

A 1976 suit forced the FBI to drop its height requirement of 5-feet-7-inches, allowing the 5-foot-5 DeGenova to become a member of the Class of 1979 at the FBI Academy. There's no doubt she embraced the agency's motto "Fidelity, Bravery and Integrity." The issue of women in the FBI is still something DeGenova speaks out about. "I've seen some progress with women in the FBI," DeGenova said with her unique accent that reveals her blend of languages. But, she added, there is still room for improvement. "Only 16 percent of the agents are women and that's something that hasn't changed since 1988. From 1979 to 1988 the percentage of women went from zero to 16 percent." At the level DeGenova obtained, that of a supervisory special agent, less than 9 percent of agents are women."Women still need to increase their self-esteem and their confidence," DeGenova said.

"People challenge you all the time and I'm the type of person that if you say jump I say how high," DeGenova said.

Ms. DeGenova at the Marblehead Chamber of Commerce After Hours

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