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Tycoon blames arrest on bias
Jesse Maali sees anti-Arab basis for prosecution
By Henry Pierson Curtis | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted May 19, 2004
International Drive entrepreneur Jesse Maali accused federal prosecutors Tuesday of investigating his business activities solely because he is an Arab-American.
The Palestinian-born millionaire blamed his arrest two years ago on a selective prosecution that handled his case differently than more th
n 1,000 similar cases against other Florida employers, according to papers filed in federal court in Orlando.
Maali was charged with harboring illegal aliens, laundering money to pay them off the boo
ks
nd tax evasion. A study funded by Maali's lawyers found no othe
r cases where an employer in Florida was charged criminally in immigration investigations.
The motion, which asks a judge to dismiss the case, says the charges were just an excuse to arrest Maali after a three-year investigation failed to find anything more serious.
"Succinctly put, no serious debate exists that the government would have not charged Mr. Maali criminally but for the fact that in this post-9/11 world Mr. Maali is Middle Eastern by birth, Islamic in his religion, and sympathetic in both his speech and his charitable giving to Palestinian humanitarian projects and relief efforts," the motion states.
The U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment Tuesday.
"Based on court rules,
we can't discuss the merits of the motion," said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Klindt. "We are reviewing the allegations contained in the motion, and we will file a response with
the
court.&quo
t;
Maali, 58, was arrested Nov. 14, 2002, after an investigation by a task force of local, state an
d federal law-enforcement agencies. Agents seized more than 80 computer hard drives and 1,300 boxes of documents from Maali's office, sporting good stores and gifts shops in Orange and Osceola counties and from his home in Isleworth.
Maali remains free on $10 million bail, the highest ever in Central Florida.
Agents also arrested Maali's business partner M. Saleem Khanani, 53, and their accountant, David Portlock, 52. Several of Maali's employees were arrested in the raids but have since made plea deals in exchange for their testimony against Maali and the others.
Controversy quickly followed the arrests when Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia Hawkins claimed
Maali was a threat to the community, saying he had "financial ties to Middle Eastern organizations who advocate violence."
Maali has denied any ties to terrorism.
Si
nce his
arrest the case h
as received national press coverage and attracted the attention of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the largest org
anization of its kind with members in 50 states.
"What we don't appreciate and what, in fact is part of growing pattern in cases involving Arab-American defendants . . . prosecutors make dark insinuations and vague hints about sets of words that are designed to push the terrorism button . . . It's ridiculous and highly irresponsible," said ADC spokesman Hussein Ibish.
The federal Immigration and Naturalization Service opened 1,311 investigations of employers across the state from 1986 to 2000 without a single criminal prosecution, according to research done for Maali by Ferrell, Schultz, Carter & Ferter, a Miami law firm.
"Rather . . . INS policy has been one of non-prosecutorial intervention and remediation through warning notices and administrative fines," Maali's lawyers wrote.
Illegal la
bor cases larger than Maal
i's in Florida have ended when employers were ordered to pay less than $20,000 in fines, his lawyers wrote. The motion cites how several Tampa Bay hotels escaped fine
s in the late 1990s by simply firing scores of illegal immigrants.
The real intent of the investigation, the motion states, had been to tie the multi-millionaire to bankrolling terrorism, drug dealing and control of business on the International Drive tourist district.
The motion asks U.S. District John Antoon II, the trial judge, to dismiss the case against Maali.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/...-news-headlines
Tycoon blames arrest on bias
Jesse Maali sees anti-Arab basis for prosecution
By Henry Pierson Curtis | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted May 19, 2004
International Drive entrepreneur Jesse Maali accused federal prosecutors Tuesday of investigating his business activities solely because he is an Arab-American.
The Palestinian-born millionaire blamed his arrest two years ago on a selective prosecution that handled his case differently than more th
n 1,000 similar cases against other Florida employers, according to papers filed in federal court in Orlando.
Maali was charged with harboring illegal aliens, laundering money to pay them off the boo
ks
nd tax evasion. A study funded by Maali's lawyers found no othe
r cases where an employer in Florida was charged criminally in immigration investigations.
The motion, which asks a judge to dismiss the case, says the charges were just an excuse to arrest Maali after a three-year investigation failed to find anything more serious.
"Succinctly put, no serious debate exists that the government would have not charged Mr. Maali criminally but for the fact that in this post-9/11 world Mr. Maali is Middle Eastern by birth, Islamic in his religion, and sympathetic in both his speech and his charitable giving to Palestinian humanitarian projects and relief efforts," the motion states.
The U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment Tuesday.
"Based on court rules,
we can't discuss the merits of the motion," said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Klindt. "We are reviewing the allegations contained in the motion, and we will file a response with
the
court.&quo
t;
Maali, 58, was arrested Nov. 14, 2002, after an investigation by a task force of local, state an
d federal law-enforcement agencies. Agents seized more than 80 computer hard drives and 1,300 boxes of documents from Maali's office, sporting good stores and gifts shops in Orange and Osceola counties and from his home in Isleworth.
Maali remains free on $10 million bail, the highest ever in Central Florida.
Agents also arrested Maali's business partner M. Saleem Khanani, 53, and their accountant, David Portlock, 52. Several of Maali's employees were arrested in the raids but have since made plea deals in exchange for their testimony against Maali and the others.
Controversy quickly followed the arrests when Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia Hawkins claimed
Maali was a threat to the community, saying he had "financial ties to Middle Eastern organizations who advocate violence."
Maali has denied any ties to terrorism.
Si
nce his
arrest the case h
as received national press coverage and attracted the attention of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the largest org
anization of its kind with members in 50 states.
"What we don't appreciate and what, in fact is part of growing pattern in cases involving Arab-American defendants . . . prosecutors make dark insinuations and vague hints about sets of words that are designed to push the terrorism button . . . It's ridiculous and highly irresponsible," said ADC spokesman Hussein Ibish.
The federal Immigration and Naturalization Service opened 1,311 investigations of employers across the state from 1986 to 2000 without a single criminal prosecution, according to research done for Maali by Ferrell, Schultz, Carter & Ferter, a Miami law firm.
"Rather . . . INS policy has been one of non-prosecutorial intervention and remediation through warning notices and administrative fines," Maali's lawyers wrote.
Illegal la
bor cases larger than Maal
i's in Florida have ended when employers were ordered to pay less than $20,000 in fines, his lawyers wrote. The motion cites how several Tampa Bay hotels escaped fine
s in the late 1990s by simply firing scores of illegal immigrants.
The real intent of the investigation, the motion states, had been to tie the multi-millionaire to bankrolling terrorism, drug dealing and control of business on the International Drive tourist district.
The motion asks U.S. District John Antoon II, the trial judge, to dismiss the case against Maali.