The Greenville News from Greenville, South Carolina • Page 17

Saturday, July 16, 2005 The Greenville News greenvilleonline.com 5A BOMB FROM PAGE 1 A -wy lie- 3 i I A' "AVJ: i- I KEN OSBURN Staff Investors Vice President Anne W. Bannister, leave the courthouse ed that police found evidence of the explosive TATP inside a bathtub. TATP was used by shoe bomber Richard Reid, whose attempt to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight from Paris to Miami in December 2001 was thwarted. Reid pleaded guilty to U.S. charges and is serving life in prison.

Egypt's Interior Ministry announced Friday that Egyptian authorities were interrogating el-Nashar, who studied at North Carolina State University and the University of Leeds. It said el-Nashar denied having any connection to the attacks. In Cairo, a government official said el-Nashar, 33, was arrested in the Egyptian capital on Sunday or Monday after British officials informed Egypt of their interest in him. But el-Nashar's youngest brother, Mohammed, said he was arrested Thursday when he went to a local mosque to pray but didn't return. In London, Blair said British authorities would seek the suspect's extradition, if need be, although the two countries do not have an extradition treaty.

The Egyptian Interior Minister said el-Nashar came to Egypt from London on vacation and had intended to go back to Britain to continue his studies. "El-Nashar denied having any relation with the latest events in London," the ministry said. "He pointed out (to questioners) that all his belongings remained in his apartment in Britain." In Leeds, authorities searched el-Nashar's town house in a complex of two-story brown brick apartments. The home was surrounded by blue-and-white police tape and covered in scaffolding draped in white plastic sheeting. Forensic teams in white coveralls carted out material.

TATP, or triacetone triperox-ide, is a highly unstable explosive made from commercially available chemicals. Earlier media reports had suggested the bombers used military-grade explosives. Andy Oppenheimer, an explosives expert with Jane's Information Group, said TATP is strong enough to have caused the damage wreaked by last week's bombs. But he said making such a highly volatile explosive stable enough to carry out closely synchronized attacks would have required advanced knowledge of chemistry. Police say the three subway blasts happened within a minute.

El-Nashar's research at Leeds focused on biocatalysis and en- --r i. SERGIO DIOMSIO Grieving: those lost in the London bombings Muslim scholars condemn attack By Thomas Wagner The Associated Press LONDON Muslim leaders and scholars condemned the London bombings Friday but stopped short of criticizing all suicide attacks, with some of them saying those targeting occupying forces are sometimes justified. The 22 imams and scholars meeting at London's largest mosque said in a joint statement the perpetrators of the subway blasts had violated the Quran by killing innocent civilians and no one should consider them martyrs. In a later press conference, the conferees were repeatedly asked if they also condemn suicide bombings in countries such as Iraq and Israel. "There should be a clear distinction between the suicide bombing of those who are trying to defend themselves from occupiers, which is something different from those who kill civilians, which is a big crime," said Sayed Mohammed Musawi, head of the World Islamic League in London.

messages of condolence Friday for Parish Church near Tavistock Square. PAUL ELLIS The AP Probe: A forensic officer investigating the London suicide bombings carries bags containing computer equipment from a building on Lodge Lane, Beeston, Leeds, England, on Friday. It was Hussain's mother who gave investigators a key break in the case when she called them the night of the bombings to report him missing. Associated Press writers Paul Garwood in Cairo and Paul Haven in Islamabad contributed to this report. I 1 a I I 4 mV i 'f.

A LI In Greenville: Former Carolina Owen and one of her attorneys, following Friday's hearing. CASE FROM PAGE 1 A will only make "more definite and certain" the time periods in which Owen allegedly lied to investors or misled them about the security of their money, said Assistant Attorney General August G. Tav'Swaratll. He said investigators and they to expand the period in-i yolved for most of the investors by several months to include March 21, 2003, the day the Pickens-ubased company suddenly closed in doors. An estimated 12,000 people, including many elderly Upstate lost $278 million when the company failed.

While the evidence at Owen's might be "somewhat different" than information contained in the indictment, the grand jur-' y's responsibility is just to establish probable cause, Swarat said. Investigators then are responsible for solidifying the case, he said. Johnson, near the end of a hearing that lasted for more than 90 minutes at the Greenville County Courthouse, said he won't rule until Monday or Tues-' day on the state's motion to amend the indictment. Johnson did reject defense mo-'. tions to quash Owen's indict-' ment, including its claim she was offered immunity from prosecu- tion for cooperating fully with vestigators.

Government attor-I neys said she was interviewed willingly and no promises were made in exchange for her ation. Owen attended Friday's hear- ing but didn't speak publicly, whispering only occasionally to her defense team. A state grand jury in April 2004 indicted Owen on eight fel- ony counts of securities fraud. The indictment alleges that be-; tween May of 2002 and February of 2003 she lied to investors or misled them about just how safe money was. According to Attorney General Henry McMaster, she faces 80 years in prison and $400,000 in fines if convicted on all counts.

Meanwhile, the government's investigation is continuing, said Jennifer J). Evans, chief of the state grand jury. "We're going to keep on pre- paring for trial on this case," she said in an interview with The Greenville News. Prosecutors also are continuing their "on-going investigation" into HomeGold Financial Carolina Investors' parent uild Your Ehro in Bill Paying respects: Londoners sign at a flower tribute at Kings Cross zyme immobilization, according to a biography of him on the university's Web site. That kind of research "wouldn't have anything directly to do with explosives" or with biological weapons, said Constance Ann Schall, an associate professor at the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Toledo in Ohio.

Khan, the 30-year-old who detonated the bomb on the subway train near Edgware Road, left for Pakistan in December to look after his ailing father, former students at the Hillside Primary School in Beeston said. It was not clear when he returned to Britain. Friday, Jon Trickett, a member of the British Parliament, said Kahn visited the House of Commons in July 2004 as part of a school trip. "I was shocked to learn that someone who had grown up in the area of Beeston where I lived and which I represented on the Leeds City Council for 12 years should turn out to be one of the London bombers," the lawmaker said. Kahn and others in the field trip were screened before being admitted into the building.

Meanwhile, the family of Hus-sain the 18-year-old believed to have blown up the double-decker bus released a statement saying they were devastated by the attack and had no idea he could have been involved. "We had no knowledge of his activities and had we we would have done everything in our power to stop him," the statement said. "We urge anyone with information about these events, or leading up to them, to cooperate fully with the authorities." fU MATTRESS CO. 8 Michael Traurig 4 MD.RVT A i VASCUtAR )NTf UNAl Mf OtC)M 'It i 235 9008 fl www.stopvelr13.com 'fffjj 0A KEN OSBURN Staff Hears plea: Judge James Johnson said Friday he would rule Monday or on motions to amend the indictment in the Carolina Investors case. company, Evans said.

No Home-Gold official has been charged with any wrongdoing. Owen, who was Carolina Investors' senior vice president of investments, will be the third former company officer to face trial in the wake of Carolina Investors' collapse. Owen's husband, Larry, 61, pleaded guilty last July to 22 counts of securities fraud and is serving an 8-year prison term. He was Carolina Investors' president. Also, a jury last November convicted former Lt.

Gov. Earle Morris, 77, on 22 counts of securities fraud for telling investors to keep their money in Carolina Investors even though he knew it was sliding into insolvency. Johnson sentenced Morris, who was Carolina Investors' chairman, to 44 months in prison He is free on bond while he appeals his conviction. HomeGold was a finance company that specialized in originating, selling and servicing subprime first- and second-lien residential mortgages. Its business was funded through loans from Carolina Investors, which sold unsecured notes and debentures to the public, according to SEC documents.

The market for high-risk mortgages crashed in 1998, and HomeGold found itself going deeply into debt. And by 2002, HomeGold owed more to Carolina Investors' depositors than the company was worth, prosecutors said. Both companies filed for bankruptcy protection. Carolina Investors' customers are recouping about 18 cents on the dollar following the sale of company assets and its liquidation, according to bankruptcy officials. Own Sofa Step I Select the Frame Step 2 Select the Fabric Step 3 Select the Seat Cushion Step 4 Select the Pillow Fabric Step 5 Select the FringeBraid Bullion (where applicable) AMOUNT MVMENT TERM FU0(UTE IMPS I A70 180 4-73 775.000 jmO J80 75 MMOjT jfm J80j 4.75 150.0001 I Will 180 Purchase RefinanceCash Out Debt Consolidation Call Today For Your Free Analysis Mortgages Manufactured Housing Ok Less Than Perfect Credit Ok No Application Fee Quick Closings ones? mm ANNUAL PERCENTAGi RATI 5.23 UaMj'ttAff vitu (iftiv Bi srBrt rnins hum felh 1 Ut I Villi f.

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