Man allegedly connected to Hezballah arrested in San Antonio

Houston Chronicle:
The FBI has arrested a San Antonio man on charges that he lied to get into the United States and tried to get a sensitive Defense Department position.

Wissam Allouche, 44, appeared for an initial hearing Friday afternoon, and shook his head when U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry Bemporad read the charges leveled in a federal indictment. The judge ordered him held pending a bail hearing and his arraignment on Tuesday.

“He allegedly tried to cover up his affiliation with Hezbollah,” said special agent Erik Vasys, spokesman for the FBI in San Antonio. “It is believed he was looking to secure a sensitive position with the U.S. government at some point.”

The indictment said Allouche had married a U.S. citizen and was going through the naturalization process. During that process, he reportedly lied when asked if he had ever been a member of or associated with a terrorist organization, the indictment said.

The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force alleges he was a fighter with the Amal militia in Lebanon in the early to mid-1980s. After his release as an Israeli prisoner of war, he was made a commander of the Amal militia, who was notified about the group's operations, the indictment said. News reports at the time said Hezbollah was formed by religious members of the Amal movement.
...
There have been several stories about Hezballah attempting to get its people across the Mexican border.  This looks like the FBI is getting serious about the problem.  What is interesting about this case is most of his alleged false statements were around four years ago.

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