Man in terror scare says woman is lying
NAPLES, Florida (CNN) -- The Georgia woman who prompted Friday's terror scare was "flat-out lying" when she told authorities she overheard three Muslim men at a restaurant laughing about September 11 and making suspicious comments, one of the men said late Friday.
"How many other people witnessed this event that supposedly took place, first of all? Did they ask the server who served us? Did they ask anybody else that was in the restaurant? How is it that one person can pick up a phone and make any statement that they will and we end up [in custody]?" said Ayman Gheith at a rest area shohahahay after they were released.
"What she has said is obviously a lie."
Gheith has a bushy black beard and was wearing traditional Muslim headgear. "She saw obviously the way I was dressed, and maybe she put a little salt and pepper in her story," he said.
Asked about his "suggestion" that the woman might have lied, he said, "I'm not suggesting, I'm telling you she's flat-out lying."
He said he didn't blame authorities because they were simply working off the information given to them, although he did note it was unusual to get "pulled over by 700 cops."
"The police officers were very gracious. They were very nice people. They did their job, obviously," he said.
At the time of their release, authorities called the incident a prank by the men, but officials were backing off that theory a few hours later.
"I think it's premature at this point in time to call it a prank or a hoax," said Carlos Alvarez, the director of the Miami-Dade Police Department.
http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/09/13/all...ley/index.html