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The Post-Standard - August 13, 2005
Auburn prison imam receives probation
for violating sanctions against Iraq
By John O'Brien
An imam at Auburn state prison hopes his probation sentence on Friday will persuade the state to let him start earning the paycheck he's been collecting for a year while he sat home doing nothing.
U.S. District Judge Norman Mordue sentenced Osameh Al Wahaidy to two years' probation, fined him $5,000 and ordered him to perform 100 hours of community service for violating U.S. sanctions against Iraq by sending aid there without a license through the Syracuse charity Help the Needy.
Al Wahaidy said he's optimistic that because the sentence didn't include jail time, officials at the state Department of Correctional Services will reverse their decision to ban him from the prison. The state's been paying Al Wahaidy his $57,000 annual salary since July 2004, but ordered him to stay home.
"I'm optimistic to go back to work," said Al Wahaidy, 43, of Fayetteville. "I want to do my work."
Two Auburn prison officials testified at Al Wahaidy's sentencing on Friday that they want him back. Deputy Superintendent Ronald Nelson said he'd never seen a better imam, or Muslim chaplain. Capt. John Rourke said Al Wahaidy was adept at defusing potential problems among Muslim inmates, including those who had a "warped view of the religion."
Nelson would not comment after the sentencing about why state officials ordered Al Wahaidy to stay home while they paid him his full salary. State officials have refused to comment.
Al Wahaidy and his lawyer, Steven Williams, contend it was too much of a "political hot potato" for state officials to let him return to the prison. Gov. George Pataki and other politicians have inaccurately painted Al Wahaidy and others involved in the Help the Needy case as terrorists, Williams said.
"I believe Gov. Pataki made it clear if I go back to work, someone's going to lose their job," Al Wahaidy said. After his arrest, Al Wahaidy was initially suspended without pay from his imam job. He lost his part-time position as a math professor at the State University College at Oswego.
Al Wahaidy asked Mordue to consider his motives in violating the Iraq sanctions. "I simply wanted to help suffering people," he said. "I never did anything for personal gain."
There was no evidence Al Wahaidy was aware that Help the Needy's founder, Dr. Rafil Dhafir, was misusing the charity's money, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Olmsted said. Al Wahaidy apologized for breaking the sanctions, but said it was necessary because Saddam Hussein would have stolen any aid that was sent to Iraq through a licensed organization…..
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