HELP THE NEEDY PROSECUTIONS UPDATE

Osameh Al Wahaidy has pled guilty to violating US sanctions against Iraq. Read the Syracuse Post Standard article here. Read the following paragraphs:

Al Wahaidy cooperated with FBI agents on the day of his arrest Feb. 26, answering their questions about Help the Needy for eight hours, Williams said.

Some of Help the Needy's donations went to two organizations that the federal government has since cited as financial supporters of terrorists, according to investigators. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Olmsted would not comment on whether there's any evidence that the charity's money helped terrorists.

Al Wahaidy gets sick to his stomach when he hears suggestions that the donations were intended to help Saddam Hussein, al-Qaida or any other terrorist groups, Williams said.

"He's hoping people in Central New York understand what his motivations were," Williams said. "Osameh is happier than anybody that Saddam Hussein is out of there. He's doing cartwheels over that fact."

Al Wahaidy did not admit that he conspired to violate the U.S. sanctions. He admitted he continued to raise money for Help the Needy even after he realized the organization was circumventing the sanctions. If the charity had received permission from the U.S. government to provide aid to Iraq, the money would have ended up in Saddam's hands, Williams said.

Hardly seems like the dangerous guy that the federal prosecutors made him out to be after they announced the prosecutions in the run-up to the war in Iraq.