August 18, 2014, - 3:42 pm
Ferguson Market Brown Robbed Laundered Money to Palestinian Terrorists
The Ferguson, Missouri store Michael Brown robbed likely financed Palestinian Islamic terrorism and was used as a front to illegally transfer funds to entities in the Palestinian Authority. The store sold stolen cigarettes (and other contraband), often a scheme by American Muslims to finance HAMAS and Hezbollah.
When I learned that the market Michael Brown robbed was called “Ferguson Market & Liquor,” the name rang a bell. And one of my twitter followers (follow me on Twitter) reminded me that I’d written about its owners’ 2008 indictment for laundering money to and financing of Palestinian Islamic “entities” after an FBI Terrorism Task Force investigation, using the store as a front for that operation. They later pleaded guilty to the scheme. Here’s a flashback:
Fourteen people have been indicted on charges of using convenience stores to trade in stolen goods and contraband cigarettes, sending the profits to groups in the Palestinian territories. Five stores were raided Tuesday as part of an alleged racketeering organization and at least nine people were arrested, authorities said. The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force was involved in the investigation.
The indictment . . . said that since 2000, the organization profited from bank and wire fraud, receipt of stolen property and sales of contraband cigarettes. The organization, led by 33-year-old Bassam Hamed, operated convenience stores that were used to sell stolen goods, Hanaway said. He and two of his brothers were among the 14 people charged.
The indictment . . . said members of the “Hamed Organization” transferred money to “entities” in the Palestinian territories. Officials would not disclose those entities but said they were not individuals.
As I noted then, the “entities” probably had names like HAMAS, Islamic Jihad, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, etc. Sadly, the men got very light sentences after pleading guilty to racketeering and money-laundering.
Since the current owners and managers of the store have repeatedly refused to give their names–and since they hired a lawyer who insists that the store did not “narc” to the cops about Brown’s robbery or release the video–I wondered who owns the “we didn’t snitch” market and whether it is still in the business of Islamic terrorism high finance.
I did a little research, and found that “Ferguson Market” is an alias used by a company called Roshan, LLC, founded in 2009, after eight of the 14 Palestinian-Americans pleaded guilty to using the store as a Palestinian money-laundering front. Roshan is organized by someone named Mahesh Patel, which is typically a Hindi Indian name. I don’t know if he is the only owner (an LLC can have several “members” with ownership interests). And while Roshan can be a Muslim name of Persian origin, it is also a Sanskrit/Hindi word for “light,” the apparent usage here.
So, it appears that once the Palestinians pleaded guilty Mr. Patel’s company acquired the store. His “we didn’t snitch” line is clearly something he felt he had to say, lest the violent Fergie protesters put him out of business permanently.
In any event, it’s good to know that Ferguson Market & Liquor no longer finances Islamic terrorism. But, sadly, now, it’s the victim of American terrorism by vandalous thugs on the streets of Ferguson.
Same difference. Or close enough.
Ferguson will now face being abandoned by most normal businesses. It will become a truly desolate hole.
Worry01 on August 18, 2014 at 3:53 pm