Salon Newsreal | Betrayed by the FBI

A L S O+T O D A Y

Clinton should be disbarred
By Lori Leibovich
A leading legal ethicist offers a punishment consistent with the president's crimes
(12/11/98)

T A B L E+T A L K
Should men who are tricked into fatherhood be forced to pay child support? Join the debate in the Politics area of Table Talk
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Find out more about FBI Informants at BarnesandNoble.com
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R E C E N T L Y
Ruff going
By Bruce Shapiro
Clinton's lawyers take their best shot, but impeachment seems all but inevitable
(12/10/98)
Impeachment hearing voices
A round-up of the most quotable moments from Wednesday's hearing
(12/10/98)
Clinton: TV or not TV?
By Joan Walsh
As the lame-duck House moves toward impeachment, the president counts votes and ponders another national address
(12/09/98)
Impeachment hearing voices
Eleven hours of testimony and questioning on the first day of the White House's defense of President Clinton Tuesday produced some memorable quotes
(12/09/98)
A swarn of witnesses
Clinton defense who's who A roster of the witnesses for the president
(12/09/98)
Gentleman's agreement
By Christopher Hitchens
Why Clinton gets to stay mum on Pinochet
(12/08/98)
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BETRAYED BY THE FBI | PAGE 1, 2
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A far worse fate worries Omer Al Ghadi.
Al Ghadi was on the crew of a Royal Jordanian airliner that was hijacked by Middle Eastern terrorists in 1985. No one was killed, although several passengers and crew members were beaten badly and the airliner was blown up on the ground in Beirut. The brains behind the operation, Fawaz Younis, of the Lebanese Amal militia, escaped.
Two years later, in a spectacular counterterrorism coup, Younis was lured to a luxury yacht off Cyprus and captured by U.S. agents. Brought back to the United States for trial, he was convicted in what Time magazine called "the most important test yet of the nation's attempt to apply law and order to international terrorism."
A key witness in the trial was Al Ghadi, who came forward in response to promises by State and Justice departments and the FBI that he would be rewarded and protected by a grateful government. The deal: a reward of $1 million and relocation under a new identity, plus compensation for his house, property, furnishings, car and other possessions in Jordan. The reality: an offer of $75,000 and a ticket into the Witness Security Program, according to Mark Zaid, executive director of the James Madison Project, an intelligence-oriented group that represents Al Ghadi and Makuch.
"He gave up a good job, pension and imminent promotion to the king's private crew," Zaid said. "He had to flee his homeland, where his life and that of his family were in danger; he delayed plans to get married, thinking they could be reunited, but that never happened; he gave up his identity, his freedom, his family and moved to a new environment, new language, new culture."
"Justice was served for the hijacker and the American passengers," Al Ghadi said in a prepared statement, "but justice was not served for me. I was told the case I testified for was the first and most important of its kind against international terrorism. I want to settle this matter so that I can at least get on with my life and make something for myself and my family."
Today Al Ghadi "lives in constant anxiety and fear," Zaid says.
The fear in Steve Weinstein's voice is palpable. He always calls you, you can't call him. Weinstein, a key informant for the FBI in New York over the past seven years, is now on the run -- from the mob. He's an ex-snitch with no protection.
"You know why I'm still alive?" he asks during a call one day last week. "Because it's hard for them to track me that way. I don't work with a Social Security number anywhere. I don't stay in the same place. I don't do any set routine. I have no ties or links to anyone, and I just keep moving around."
Weinstein sounds scared, and perhaps with good reason. Since 1991, when he discovered that the Long Island car dealership where he worked was connected to organized crime, Weinstein has been talking to the FBI. For seven years he was a professional snitch -- though never, he insists, taking a dime for his trouble.
"I told them, I don't want your money, I'm doing it because it's the right thing to do." Over the years he ratted out crooked state police, union bosses, politicians, murderous motorcycle gangs and members of the Gambino and Lucchese crime families, resulting in a dozen indictments.
And a price on his head, he says. So when things got sticky in a mob case a few years ago, Weinstein asked the FBI for one thing: a new life in the Witness Security Program. Sure, they said, no problem. When it was time to collect, however, the deal was off. So Weinstein began to run. In the past year and a half, he says, there have been three attempts on his life. One day in Virginia last year, mobsters were going door to door looking for him.
All because of the FBI's broken record of promises, he says. And it's a record he can document, because Steve Weinstein learned a number of tricks from the FBI. One of them was to wear a wire.
He taped his handlers. The dozens of tapes Weinstein made are now in the hands of congressional investigators, and Salon.
Here's a sample:
"I have no control over money up there," one of Weinstein's FBI handlers tells him in April 1996. "All I can tell you is, George [an FBI supervisor] made a promise to you, he made a promise to me, and one of those promises was we would put you somewhere. And we would've stayed with that promise, except the dog thing changes the promise."
"The dog thing" refers to Weinstein's two canines, including an aged German shepherd who'd watched over him for many an anxious night. The FBI had suddenly decided it couldn't resettle Weinstein with his dogs -- although the controversial, multimillion-dollar Witness Security Program is replete with examples of lavish entertaining of mob informants. The agent suggests that Weinstein give the dogs away or "put them down."
No way, Weinstein said. "That wasn't the original deal," Weinstein argues back. "You agreed to it, and you know that ... I'm being jerked around." He complains the mob is looking for him day and night. He can't sleep.
"I can't go out and work, for obvious reasons. What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to live like this? I can't even see my kid. At the end of the day you go home and see your kids. I can't -- I live with this 24 hours a day."
He spends his nights peeking out from behind the curtains, waiting for the assassins, he tells his handler. "I'm gonna wind up having a heart attack," he adds, now desperate. "Or I'm gonna go off the deep end and the first person who looks at me the wrong way I'm gonna shoot."
The FBI man, nervous, tries to soothe him. "Ah c'mon. I don't want to hear that crap. Don't be telling me this."
Late last year, the FBI stopped taking Weinstein's telephone calls. But he found a sympathetic ear in an assistant federal prosecutor in New York. [Salon has withheld the names of the people on the tapes because of the sensitivity of their assignments.]
"My whole life is destroyed because of the FBI," Weinstein tells her. "There were three murder attempts on my life already, do you know that? They attempted to abduct me out of a car ..."
The prosecutor murmurs soothing sounds. She says she knew about Weinstein's good work for the FBI. "Jeff [an FBI agent] thinks you're the greatest, you should know ... Why don't you just come and talk to us, we'll get a cup of coffee and talk it over."
That was the last contact Weinstein had with federal officials. He's also now represented by the James Madison Project.
The FBI, which recently raised its award for information in international terrorism cases to $5 million, does not comment on its informants. The policy of the U.S. Marshal's Service, which runs the Witness Security Program, is to "neither confirm not deny" the existence or identity of anyone under its protection.
But an FBI agent commented caustically on the government's track record with some informants years ago. "We promise [informants] the moon in the beginning," FBI Special Agent Frank Scafidi said to Time in 1994. "But when they come through for us, there's not much there.
"If the government doesn't hold up its end of the bargain," he said, "people are not going to come forward."
SALON | Dec. 11, 1998
Jeff Stein covers criminal justice issues for Salon.

A L S O+T O D A Y Clinton should be disbarred By Lori Leibovich A leading legal ethicist offers a punishment consistent with the president's crimes (12/11/98) T A B L E+T A L K Should men who are tricked into fatherhood be forced to pay child support? Join the debate in the Politics area of Table Talk ___________________ Find out more about FBI Informants at BarnesandNoble.com ___________________ R E C E N T L Y Ruff going By Bruce Shapiro Clinton's lawyers take their best shot, but impeachment seems all but inevitable (12/10/98) Impeachment hearing voices A round-up of the most quotable moments from Wednesday's hearing (12/10/98) Clinton: TV or not TV? By Joan Walsh As the lame-duck House moves toward impeachment, the president counts votes and ponders another national address (12/09/98) Impeachment hearing voices Eleven hours of testimony and questioning on the first day of the White House's defense of President Clinton Tuesday produced some memorable quotes (12/09/98) A swarn of witnesses Clinton defense who's who A roster of the witnesses for the president (12/09/98) Gentleman's agreement By Christopher Hitchens Why Clinton gets to stay mum on Pinochet (12/08/98) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Browse the Newsreal Archives - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
		BETRAYED BY THE FBI \| PAGE 1, 2 - - - - - - - - - - A far worse fate worries Omer Al Ghadi. Al Ghadi was on the crew of a Royal Jordanian airliner that was hijacked by Middle Eastern terrorists in 1985. No one was killed, although several passengers and crew members were beaten badly and the airliner was blown up on the ground in Beirut. The brains behind the operation, Fawaz Younis, of the Lebanese Amal militia, escaped. Two years later, in a spectacular counterterrorism coup, Younis was lured to a luxury yacht off Cyprus and captured by U.S. agents. Brought back to the United States for trial, he was convicted in what Time magazine called "the most important test yet of the nation's attempt to apply law and order to international terrorism." A key witness in the trial was Al Ghadi, who came forward in response to promises by State and Justice departments and the FBI that he would be rewarded and protected by a grateful government. The deal: a reward of $1 million and relocation under a new identity, plus compensation for his house, property, furnishings, car and other possessions in Jordan. The reality: an offer of $75,000 and a ticket into the Witness Security Program, according to Mark Zaid, executive director of the James Madison Project, an intelligence-oriented group that represents Al Ghadi and Makuch. "He gave up a good job, pension and imminent promotion to the king's private crew," Zaid said. "He had to flee his homeland, where his life and that of his family were in danger; he delayed plans to get married, thinking they could be reunited, but that never happened; he gave up his identity, his freedom, his family and moved to a new environment, new language, new culture." "Justice was served for the hijacker and the American passengers," Al Ghadi said in a prepared statement, "but justice was not served for me. I was told the case I testified for was the first and most important of its kind against international terrorism. I want to settle this matter so that I can at least get on with my life and make something for myself and my family." Today Al Ghadi "lives in constant anxiety and fear," Zaid says. The fear in Steve Weinstein's voice is palpable. He always calls you, you can't call him. Weinstein, a key informant for the FBI in New York over the past seven years, is now on the run -- from the mob. He's an ex-snitch with no protection. "You know why I'm still alive?" he asks during a call one day last week. "Because it's hard for them to track me that way. I don't work with a Social Security number anywhere. I don't stay in the same place. I don't do any set routine. I have no ties or links to anyone, and I just keep moving around." Weinstein sounds scared, and perhaps with good reason. Since 1991, when he discovered that the Long Island car dealership where he worked was connected to organized crime, Weinstein has been talking to the FBI. For seven years he was a professional snitch -- though never, he insists, taking a dime for his trouble. "I told them, I don't want your money, I'm doing it because it's the right thing to do." Over the years he ratted out crooked state police, union bosses, politicians, murderous motorcycle gangs and members of the Gambino and Lucchese crime families, resulting in a dozen indictments. And a price on his head, he says. So when things got sticky in a mob case a few years ago, Weinstein asked the FBI for one thing: a new life in the Witness Security Program. Sure, they said, no problem. When it was time to collect, however, the deal was off. So Weinstein began to run. In the past year and a half, he says, there have been three attempts on his life. One day in Virginia last year, mobsters were going door to door looking for him. All because of the FBI's broken record of promises, he says. And it's a record he can document, because Steve Weinstein learned a number of tricks from the FBI. One of them was to wear a wire. He taped his handlers. The dozens of tapes Weinstein made are now in the hands of congressional investigators, and Salon. Here's a sample: "I have no control over money up there," one of Weinstein's FBI handlers tells him in April 1996. "All I can tell you is, George [an FBI supervisor] made a promise to you, he made a promise to me, and one of those promises was we would put you somewhere. And we would've stayed with that promise, except the dog thing changes the promise." "The dog thing" refers to Weinstein's two canines, including an aged German shepherd who'd watched over him for many an anxious night. The FBI had suddenly decided it couldn't resettle Weinstein with his dogs -- although the controversial, multimillion-dollar Witness Security Program is replete with examples of lavish entertaining of mob informants. The agent suggests that Weinstein give the dogs away or "put them down." No way, Weinstein said. "That wasn't the original deal," Weinstein argues back. "You agreed to it, and you know that ... I'm being jerked around." He complains the mob is looking for him day and night. He can't sleep. "I can't go out and work, for obvious reasons. What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to live like this? I can't even see my kid. At the end of the day you go home and see your kids. I can't -- I live with this 24 hours a day." He spends his nights peeking out from behind the curtains, waiting for the assassins, he tells his handler. "I'm gonna wind up having a heart attack," he adds, now desperate. "Or I'm gonna go off the deep end and the first person who looks at me the wrong way I'm gonna shoot." The FBI man, nervous, tries to soothe him. "Ah c'mon. I don't want to hear that crap. Don't be telling me this." Late last year, the FBI stopped taking Weinstein's telephone calls. But he found a sympathetic ear in an assistant federal prosecutor in New York. [Salon has withheld the names of the people on the tapes because of the sensitivity of their assignments.] "My whole life is destroyed because of the FBI," Weinstein tells her. "There were three murder attempts on my life already, do you know that? They attempted to abduct me out of a car ..." The prosecutor murmurs soothing sounds. She says she knew about Weinstein's good work for the FBI. "Jeff [an FBI agent] thinks you're the greatest, you should know ... Why don't you just come and talk to us, we'll get a cup of coffee and talk it over." That was the last contact Weinstein had with federal officials. He's also now represented by the James Madison Project. The FBI, which recently raised its award for information in international terrorism cases to $5 million, does not comment on its informants. The policy of the U.S. Marshal's Service, which runs the Witness Security Program, is to "neither confirm not deny" the existence or identity of anyone under its protection. But an FBI agent commented caustically on the government's track record with some informants years ago. "We promise [informants] the moon in the beginning," FBI Special Agent Frank Scafidi said to Time in 1994. "But when they come through for us, there's not much there. "If the government doesn't hold up its end of the bargain," he said, "people are not going to come forward." SALON \| Dec. 11, 1998 Jeff Stein covers criminal justice issues for Salon.