CLEVELAND, Aug. 24 (UPI) -- A federal investigation into terror funding has uncovered a money trail leading from Cleveland to Damascus, the Plain Dealer reported Tuesday.
A federal indictment unsealed Friday in Chicago says the holder of a Cleveland bank account, identified only as "co-conspirator H," moved more than $500,000 destined for terrorist activities in Israel through the account from 1990 to 1992.
Among the men named in the Chicago indictmentis Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook, a U.S.-educated engineer who took refuge in Damascus after the United States expelled him in 1997. He now works in Damascus as the deputy chief of Hamas political bureau and also was indicted in a Texas case last month.
Some of the money originated in Saudi Arabia, the indictment says.
After the money made its way to Cleveland, co-conspirator H wrote dozens of checks for smaller amounts, most of which were cashed in Israel and used to support Hamas activities, the indictment said.
At the time, the United States had not designated Hamas a terrorist group. Yet U.S. officials contend the money laundering was still criminal, arguing that Hamas has always been an organized crime enterprise, just like the Mafia or a narcotics ring.
