Agent: Arson killed key suspect in driver's license scheme

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - An arson car fire, not a crash, killed a driver&#39;s license examiner charged in a bogus license scheme with possible terrorist ties, according to an FBI agent&#39;s testimony. <br> <br> Katherine Smith, 49, was found burned beyond recognition early Sunday on a rural road 20 miles from her home. Her car, which she bought from one of her co-defendants, had struck a utility pole, authorities said. <br> <br> FBI agent J. Suzanne Nash testified Wednesday that witnesses told investigators they &#34;noticed flames from the back seat&#34; before Smith&#39;s car struck the pole. The agent added that the gas tank was intact. <br> <br> Authorities said the woman&#39;s family last saw her Saturday night. An autopsy and forensic tests on the car are ongoing. <br> <br> Smith was scheduled to appear in federal court Monday on charges that she sold driver&#39;s licenses to five Middle Eastern men, primarily from New York, who did not have proper documentation. <br> <br> Three of the men -- Mostafa Said Abou-Shahin, Abdelmuhsen Mahmid Hammad and Mohammed Fares -- were denied bond after a court hearing Wednesday. <br> <br> Attorneys for the men said they were being punished because of their ethnicity. &#34;They seem to be trying to tie this to Sept. 11,&#34; defense attorney Clifton Harviel Jr. said. <br> <br> But Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim DiScenza said the men, all illegal immigrants, participated in a conspiracy to provide them a &#34;completely false and untraceable identity.&#34; He said their motivation could be &#34;further criminal activity, whether fraudulent activity or some other illegal activity.&#34; <br> <br> The other two suspects -- Khaled Odtllah and Sakhera Hammad -- were being held without bond. <br> <br> Smith and the five men were arrested Feb. 5 after they left a driver testing station in Memphis. Prosecutors said Smith had processed four driver&#39;s license applications that morning based on false information provided by Odtllah. <br> <br> <br>

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/2/203045