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| L.I. UAV built by Egyptian Illegal Alien Sparks Terror Investigation |
| 2008-08-23 |
| An unmanned drone being built by an engineer on Long Island sparked a large counter-terrorism investigation across the New York area, officials tell WNBC.com. Police said they had stumbled upon overnight testing of the drone at a little-used airstrip in Calverton, Long Island. The investigation began Police surveillance video obtained by News 4 New York shows a white van rolling onto the tarmac, a small group of men jumping out and ground testing the unmanned flight vehicle. Kelly said the engineer building the drone never reported his work to any agency including the Federal Aviation Administration or local authorities. Investigators said concern increased for a time when they learned the man behind the project was an Egyptian national who had entered the U.S. on a Sudanese passport. "It was such a bizarre set of circumstances," said New York State Homeland Security Director Michael Balboni. "Of course we watched it as closely as we did anything that was on our radar screen." You might even think the mook was a terr. NYPD officials worked with Suffolk County police and the FBI to determine there were no ties to terror. Nope. Nothing to see here. Move along. Under questioning, the engineer said he was an inventor hoping to sell this drone model to the U.S. military. Yeah, that's why I had to test at night. Just like Grumman. NYPD Lieutenant William McGroarty said during the investigation they had other questions. I'll bet. "What if this individual could not sell to the military?" McGroarty asked. "Would he then turn and sell it to the highest bidder?" Gee, what if the didn't even try to sell it to the military, Sherlock? In this case, police said there is no evidence any laws were broken as the drone was tested on the ground. Officials said if it had gone into the air without prior FAA approval, it could have been considered a crime. Another defeat at lawfare. While there are no terror links, police said their investigation continues. The engineer, who News 4 New York will not name because he was not charged, did not respond to numerous requests for comment. His drone project has now been taken over by a Maryland-based company that has registered with the FAA, officials said. One investigator said the engineer, at best, had showed poor judgment in trying to do the project in a manner that raised so many alarms. Why isn't this asshole being deported to the Sudan? Congrats to the NY cops for nabbing this guy. When it comes out how much has been covered up, people are going to be really po'ed. |
| Posted by:Nimble Spemble |
| #3 |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2008-08-23 16:46 |
| #2 |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-08-23 16:38 |
| #1 |
| Posted by: Sherry 2008-08-23 14:43 |