Task force arrests man tied to group in al-Qaida inquiry

By Christy McKerney, Jeff Shields and Tanya Weinberg
Sun-Sentinel, June 15, 2002, SUNRISE —

Counterterrorism agents have arrested a Palestinian man who helped found the Florida branch of a group charged with financing Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida terrorist network. Adham A. Hassoun, 40, a Sunrise man who is listed as the registered Florida agent for the Benevolence Foundation International, was arrested Wednesday night during a traffic stop on Nob Hill Road, his family said. Immigration and Naturalization Service spokeswoman Patricia Mancha confirmed Hassoun is in INS custody but would not say where. She said only he was arrested in an investigation by the South Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force. The task force includes law enforcement agencies at all levels, including the FBI and the INS. In April, Chicago-based Benevolence International Foundation, which describes itself as an international charity organization benefiting refugees and children, was charged in federal court in Chicago with funding al-Qaida terrorists. The foundation is no longer active in Florida. Hassoun, who was born in Lebanon, worked for the foundation for a short time in the early 1990s, said his sister, who also lives in Sunrise but asked that her name not be used. She said the family doesn’t even know where Hassoun is or why he was taken.“No one will tell us anything,” she said. “This is not right. ”His wife, Nahed, reached at home Friday, would not comment, only saying, “He’s not here. ”Benevolence International rented office space at 150 S. University Drive in

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