New York Post - March 14, 2002
BUSTED EGYPTIAN PACKED 'HOW TO HANDLE COPS' GUIDE
March 14, 2002 -- LANCASTER, Pa. - An Egyptian arrested for allegedly using a fake ID at a nightclub was held without bail after he was found carrying instructions on how to deal with authorities if he was stopped for questioning, police said yesterday.
In court papers filed after Ahmed Ebrahim Moussa's arrest last week, authorities said he had documents "known to be affiliated with active terrorism networks."
But Moussa's public defender, Samuel Encarnacion, said his client has been unfairly branded and was carrying instructions only because he didn't speak English well and was worried that police might find him suspicious.
"At this point, it is pretty outrageous, to say the least," said Encarnacion, who blamed the suspicions of terrorism on overzealous police and prosecutors.
"They have gone to all this training in Philadelphia. Maybe they feel like they are missing the action, and this guy is the only game in town," he said.
County prosecutors said in court papers that they were told by federal authorities that Moussa "is a flight risk, is dangerous and will fail to appear [in court] as required."
Federal prosecutors said they were aware of the case, but were not involved.
Moussa, 25, was detained shortly after midnight on March 7 when an employee at The Village nightclub in Lancaster challenged his identification card.
Police said the card purported to be a "Legal First Amendment Non-Governmental" photo ID card for New Jersey residents, and that the Social Security number on the card was not Moussa's.
They said Moussa told them after his arrest that the card had been made at a shop on 42nd Street in New York City.