The Mission

The fight against terrorism is now the first and overriding priority of the Department of Justice. We will devote all resources necessary to disrupt, weaken, and eliminate the infrastructure of terrorist organizations, to prevent or thwart terrorist attacks, and to bring to justice the perpetrators of terrorist acts.

Our single objective is to prevent terrorist attacks by taking suspected terrorists off the street. We will use every available statute. We will seek every prosecutorial advantage. We will use all our weapons within the law and under the Constitution to protect life and enhance security for America. We will not hesitate in this pursuit, nor will we be thwarted.

- United States Department of Justice Strategic Plan 2001-2006, A Message from the Attorney General

The Directive

On September 17, 2001, Attorney General John Ashcroft directed all United States Attorneys' Offices to take several immediate steps in the fight against terrorism. The directive that he issued required, first, that the United States Attorneys make anti-terrorism "our first and overriding priority." Second, it instructed the United States Attorney's Offices and all Department of Justice components to implement an anti-terrorism plan that would employ all available law enforcement tools and criminal charges to incapacitate those individuals who participate in, or lend support to, terrorist activities. Third, it ordered the United States Attorneys to appoint an Anti-Terrorism Coordinator and to establish within each district an Anti-Terrorism Task Force ("ATTF"). The ATTF was to serve as a conduit for sharing information among federal and state authorities, a coordinating body for carrying out the anti-terrorism plan, and an organizational structure for responding to any future terrorist incidents. The Connecticut ATTF held its first meeting on September 18, 2001.

On September 24, 2003 the name of the ATTF was changed to the Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council (ATAC). The responsibilities of the ATAC will continue as they have since the ATTF was first conceived:

1. Coordinate Anti-Terrorism Initiatives:
   a) Ensure that federal, state, and local enforcement efforts are focused and coordinated as they pursue targets who may be connected to terrorism.
   b) Mobilize and coordinate federal, state, and local officials for national prevention-based initiatives that involve significant prospects of imminent prosecution.
   c) Provide a central forum for agencies to congregate and identify potential terrorism links among their investigations.
2. Initiate Training Programs.
3. Facilitate timely sharing of information.
4. Support the JTTF in all operational aspects of terrorism investigations.

The Definition of Terrorism

Terrorism, in the broadest sense, is politically, religiously, or socially motivated violence perpetrated against non-combative targets by groups or individuals. This definition includes violence directed at governmental entities as well as at private citizens, and violence directed at people and property, all for the purpose of forcibly changing public policy.

The District of Connecticut Plan of Action

United States Attorney Kevin J. O'Connor heads the District of Connecticut's Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council. John A. Danaher III, who served as United States Attorney at the time of the September 11th attacks, currently serves as the Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council Coordinator.

On September 18, 2001, the new Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council established a basic membership that included state, federal and local law enforcement. Since November 2002 numerous new member agencies have joined the ATAC team bringing the current agency/department strength to 67 agencies. The ATAC includes representation from the following: 18 Federal agencies, 7 State of Connecticut agencies, 5 different units of the CT Department of Public Safety, 6 military units, 24 local police departments and 7 other agencies. It meets regularly to share information, coordinate investigative and prosecutorial strategies and train law enforcement and other personnel.

The ATAC in the District of Connecticut has five goals:

Prevent, disrupt and defeat terrorist operations before they occur.

Develop and implement the full range of resources available to investigate terrorist incidents, bringing the perpetrators to justice.

Vigorously prosecute those who have committed, or intend to commit, terrorist acts in the United States.

Protect critical infrastructure.

Deter threat and hoax events that drain law enforcement and other first-responder resources.

Connecticut has always enjoyed an effective working relationship among various federal, state and local law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies. The effectiveness of those relationships, and of the new ATAC, was put to the test in November 2001 when Ms. Otillie Lundgren, a resident of Oxford, Connecticut, contracted inhalation anthrax and died. The investigation of this tragic incident has been fully supported by all entities involved and is continuing.

The Unique Posture of Connecticut

Although the State of Connecticut is the third smallest state in the union, it is the home of many major defense contractors, including Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, Sikorsky Aircraft, and Electric Boat. In addition, the United States Navy maintains a submarine base in Groton, Connecticut. There are twenty-five public airports in Connecticut, two of which offer commercial service, including the ever-expanding Bradley International, which also serves the Greater Springfield, Massachusetts area from Windsor Locks. There are deep-water ports at Bridgeport, New Haven and New London, as well as two nuclear power generating stations, one of which has been deactivated.

Anti-Terrorism Accomplishments

The District of Connecticut has adopted a multi-pronged approach in its anti-terrorism effort. The investigation and prosecution of terrorist offenses, including fundraising in support of terrorist organizations, is the District's highest priority. In order to convey the seriousness of that commitment, and to achieve a deterrent effect, we are committed to prosecuting terrorist hoax cases aggressively and rapidly. We also ramped up the prosecution of passport fraud and theft of identity cases, adding to the public perception that crimes in those areas would not be tolerated in Connecticut. We sought to improve relations with the Islamic community in Connecticut. Shortly after 9/11, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI and the United States Attorney met with Imams from mosques around Connecticut, assuring them of our willingness to prosecute, aggressively, any crimes committed against their followers on the basis of religious belief or ethnic heritage. We also sponsored a one-day training session aimed at sensitizing law enforcement personnel to the concerns of the Arab-American community.

We have embarked on many training programs for our ATAC. The first ATAC training session for law enforcement officers was held on January 15, 2002. Since then, the following full-day or longer training sessions have been completed for law enforcement officers, fire fighters, emergency planning directors, Public Health professionals, medical first responders and numerous others from the private and public sector who serve as our first line of defense against terrorism related crimes:

November 18, 2002 ATAC members at CSP HQ       
March  25, 2003 ATAC members at New Haven
April 14 &15, 2003 Funding for training at the Arnold Markle Symposium at Ledyard
"New Advances in the War on Terrorism"
June 11, 2003 ATAC Meeting with Attorney General John Ashcroft at New Haven
June 17, 2003 Joint seminar with the Rhode Island ATAC at Warwick, RI
September 25 & 26 Forensic Epidemiology seminar at Avon, CT
October 15, 2003 ATAC members at CSP HQ
December 3rd and 4th, 2003 Forensic Epidemiology seminar at Westbrook, CT
January 14, 2004 ATAC members at New Haven
March, 2004 Coordination with Connecticut Department of Health and EPA to produce four seminars at Rocky Hill, Groton, Litchfield and Southbury regarding Drinking Water Safety and Security
March 18, 2004 ATAC Madrid train bombings update and railroad security in Connecticut at New Haven
April 13, 2004 ATAC members at BDL 
April 27, 2004 ATAC training provided at the Concord, NH NESPIN conference
May 10, 2004 ATAC special committee meetings at New Haven
July 14, 2004 ATAC meeting at Millstone Nuclear Generating Station
August 26, 2004 ATAC Executive Committee meeting at Wallingford, CT regarding railroad security in Connecticut for the Republican National Convention and other topics

Airport Security Initiative. We recently identified all private and small commercial airports and heliports in Connecticut. We then located the local law enforcement entity responsible for the jurisdiction where each such airport is located. We prepared an advisory notice, intended to recruit those airports' owners and operators to assist us in identifying any suspicious activities at those airports. Finally, we asked a local law enforcement representative for each airport and heliport to visit the facility in their area, become acquainted with the owner or operator, and provide such individuals with the advisory notice. As a result of this program, we have completed a database that identifies each airport and heliport in Connecticut, the owner and operator for each airport, and the local law enforcement contact for that airport. The database has been provided to numerous state and federal agencies involved in aviation security matters. In addition, the airport owner and operators have been educated on how to assist in the fight against terrorism and were given twenty-four hour contact information for local law enforcement, FBI, and the Connecticut Department of Public Safety, Division of Homeland Security.

Anthrax Possession. A University of Connecticut graduate student was charged with the unlawful possession of anthrax. In November 2001, the student retained a portion of anthrax, which had been used for research, after the University ordered that it be destroyed. Because of his assistance to law enforcement, the student was offered and agreed to enter a pre-trial diversion program. He is prohibited from having any access to biological materials of a hazardous nature.

Defense Contractor Project. In the first such initiative undertaken in the United States, in January, 2003, twenty employees of subcontractors working at the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation in Stratford were arrested and charged with possession and use of false immigration documents, the use and possession of false social security cards, and making false statements concerning past criminal history in order to obtain security access to facilities containing restricted and sensitive military technology. All of the defendants pleaded guilty and have been sentenced except for one individual who was convicted at trial on April 19, 2004. That defendant failed to list two prior felony convictions on his application for a restricted access badge. Both of those prior convictions had resulted in the defendant being incarcerated for approximately three years.

"The false documents and other information allegedly provided by these individuals allowed them to clear their background investigations," stated U.S. Attorney Kevin J. O'Connor. "It is vital that the security of our defense infrastructure is not jeopardized by individuals who may gain access through fraudulent means." O'Connor also praised Sikorsky for its participation in and full cooperation with the ATAC's investigation.

We have visited other defense contractors, together with Supervisory Special Agents from DCIS, BICE, and SSA/OIG, setting up pipelines to investigate and prosecute export violations, fraud against the government, and to identify identity theft or other fraud among employees. Two recent export prosecutions include United States v. Omega Engineering, Inc. (referred to previously) and United States v. Ahmed, et al. In Omega, the company and its Chief Financial Officer were convicted of illegally sending equipment, which could be used in nuclear production, to Pakistan. Guilty pleas were also obtained in Ahmed, where the defendants falsely claimed that certain military technology was destined for the Bangladeshi Air Force.

We recently visited the Millstone Nuclear Power Station to assist its security personnel in its employee screening processes. Following a review of over 1,700 employee records, led by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, we confirmed that none had used false social security or other documents to obtain employment, nor had they lied about their criminal history. A similar program is now underway at the US Navy submarine base at Groton.

 Drinking Water Security. We worked closely with the Department of Public Safety, Division of Homeland Security, the Connecticut Department of Public Health and the Environmental Protection Agency to plan and provide instructors for a very successful series of seminars. The seminars were designed to train water company employees, law enforcement personnel, first-responders and municipal officials in security and safety of our drinking water facilities. The seminars were presented in March 2004 at Rocky Hill, Groton, Litchfield and Southbury.

Hoax Cases. The months following September 11, 2001, were marked by cases of domestic terrorism including anthrax hoaxes that targeted state and federal employees, government office buildings, and innocent citizens of Middle Eastern descent. There was also an incident at the University of Connecticut where a graduate student was found to be in unauthorized possession of anthrax, after having been told to destroy it.

On October 11, 2001, one month to the day following the September 11 attacks, and after there had been deaths in other states attributed to inhalation anthrax, an anthrax hoax was played out in Hartford at the headquarters of the State Department of Environmental Protection. The hoax prompted an all-out response of emergency personnel from the FBI, State Police and State DEP. The building's 800 employees were evacuated and some employees were forced to undergo decontamination. FBI Special Agents pursued the matter vigorously – interviewing numerous individuals, and polygraphing a number of employees. Eventually, a DEP employee was indicted and subsequently convicted after trial of making false statements to FBI agents in connection with their investigation of the matter. The defendant had information that the anthrax threat was a hoax but did not convey this information when first interviewed and, indeed, misdirected the FBI by suggesting that certain coworkers might be responsible when he had no reason to believe that they were involved. Thereafter, numerous people were needlessly decontaminated, and critical first-responder personnel, as well as many other elements of law enforcement, were unnecessarily detained at the hoax location. This was one of the first post-9/11 anthrax hoax prosecutions in the country.

On October 16, 2001, another defendant was arrested and charged with threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction. The defendant placed a 911 call from a phone booth to the Fairfield Police Department claiming that court buildings in Stamford and Norwalk, and the federal courthouse in Bridgeport had been "dusted." He also threatened that schools and railroads would be next, that he was aligned with the 9/11 hijackers and Al-Quaeda terrorists, and that the call was not a hoax. The defendant was arrested a short time later at the federal courthouse in Bridgeport where he had appeared for a pending bankruptcy matter, and eventually pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 6 months in prison.

In November 2001, another individual sent numerous letters threatening anthrax contamination to various offices, including the Office of the Governor, the Judicial Review Council, the U.S. Coast Guard Office in Hartford and the U.S. Marine Corps Office in Danbury. The letters stated "09.11.01 ANTHRAX IS DEADLY. YOU BREATH AND DIE. THIS IS ONLY BEGINNING. AMERICANS WILL DIE. DEATH TO AMERICA AND ISRAEL. ALLHU EKBER." The defendant was arrested on November 13, 2001 and later pleaded guilty to mailing a threatening communication and was sentenced to serve 10 months in prison.

In December 2001, another individual was indicted on a charge of making a false statement to FBI agents. The defendant told FBI agents that he had overheard two men of Arab descent discussing plans to mail multiple letters containing anthrax. A subsequent investigation identified the claim as untrue. In April of 2002, the defendant pleaded guilty to making a false statement and was sentenced to 30 days in prison.

On June 28, 2004 a former Bridgeport man was convicted at trial on both counts of threatening the use of a weapon of mass destruction and delivery of that threat through the mail. Evidence at the trial indicated that in August of 2002, while incarcerated at the Cheshire Correctional Institution, the man sent an envelope containing a white powdery substance: a piece of paper with foreign handwriting and prayers: and another piece of paper with the words “ANTRAX a/k/a Bin Laden” written on it to the Connecticut State’s Attorney’s Office in Bridgeport. The inmate had previously been prosecuted by the State’s Attorney’s Office at Bridgeport and subsequently convicted for aggravated sexual assault and five counts of risk of injury to a minor.

Intelligence Information Sharing. The United States Attorney’s Office has developed several extensive Email distribution lists and since 2002 has used those lists to effectively distribute a wide variety of useful intelligence and training-related information on a daily basis. In addition, our Intelligence Research Specialist maintains a computer-based library of essential Anti-Terrorism information available for distribution upon request to any ATAC member. List members include all of the representative agencies of the ATAC, other law enforcement, public health, and first-responder officials and members of the corporate security community.

Operation Eagle Strike. Our ATAC was an active participant in Operation Eagle Strike, a national initiative headed by the Diplomatic Security Service of the Department of State. This operation arose from a scheme in which an individual in Qatar was found to have sold American visas to a number of individuals who then used those visas to illegally enter the United States. We received information that four purchasers of those visas were residing in Connecticut. All four were located, prosecuted, and convicted.

U.S. Arms Export and Diversion Cases: On September 22, 2003 the Chief Financial Officer of a Connecticut-based company was sentenced to a ten-month term of incarceration, a three-year term of supervised release and a $50,000.00 fine. In addition, the company was ordered to pay a combined criminal and civil fine of $500,000.00. The sentences resulted from convictions on charges the CFO and the company unlawfully exported laboratory equipment that the government believed was destined for nuclear weapons testing and research by the government of Pakistan.

On April 15, 2004 a resident of Brooklyn, NY was indicted for the illegal export of military parts and components to an Israeli company without the required authorization from the U.S. Government. The two-count indictment charged that the illegal activity  began in May 2003 and included shipping parts and components for use in F-4 Phantom jet fighter aircraft, the Hawk missile guidance system and military radar.

On May 10, 2004 a Bridgeport, CT based corporation pleaded guilty to two counts of an Information that charged the company with exporting defense articles and munitions items from the United States without the necessary licenses and approvals. On the same date the son of the owner of that company pleaded guilty to attempting to impede federal agents who were conducting a search warrant at the company by attempting to disable his computer during the search. The company has agreed to pay a $500,000.00 criminal fine and to institute an acceptable export compliance program. The prohibited items included parts for use on military helicopters.

On May 10, 2004 a four-count indictment was unsealed that charged a resident of Korea with violations of the Arms Export Control Act. The man was arrested on April 1, 2004 at Dulles Airport in Virginia. A co-conspirator remains at large. The charged violations include the purchase of a new helicopter engine alleged to have been shipped to the Malaysian military, which was instead routed to China. Also charged was the attempt to purchase an additional three helicopter engines.

Our Continuing Effort

The District of Connecticut ATAC meets quarterly to share intelligence and investigative information, to discuss relevant projects and to conduct specific training. A special fund was created by the Department of Justice to help fund interagency communication, training and intelligence coordination. We are using that fund to achieve those objectives. We have recently expanded our ATAC membership to reach a more geographically diverse area, including all of the major population centers of the state.

We work very closely with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force ("JTTF"), which has been in existence at the New Haven FBI office for five years. We also work closely with the State of Connecticut Department of Public Safety, Division of Homeland Security. We direct your attention to their websites, found in our links section, for further details regarding the excellent services being provided to our state by the FBI's JTTF and the Connecticut State Police.

Our upcoming projects include a September 2004 seminar on the detection and response to radiological-based weapons of mass destruction, an ongoing project to monitor the safe transportation and disposal of radioactive waste and the implementation of more anti-terrorism training for recruit law enforcement officers.

The Patriot Act

To learn about the Patriot Act and other United States Department of Justice Anti-Terrorism initiatives read the Preserving Life and Liberty website www.lifeandliberty.gov.

The December 17, 2003 Homeland Security Presidential Directive

Click here to view this directive, which describes Critical Infrastructure Identification, Prioritization and Protection http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/12/20031217-5.html.

How You Can Help

Preventing terrorist acts requires that we be both diligent and proactive in identifying, incapacitating, and punishing those groups and individuals who would employ violence to impose their will on public policy issues. Members of the public are invaluable resources in our efforts to safeguard our citizens and their property. Rest assured that the law enforcement community is doing its best to keep us safe. You can help by offering your full support and cooperation should your assistance be needed in an interview, request for documentation, or request for information. You can also help by:

Learning the normal routines of your neighborhoods, community and workplace. Understanding these routines will help you spot anything out of place.

Observing your surroundings. Whether traveling, at work or at home be on the lookout for suspicious packages, luggage or mail abandoned in a crowded place like an office building, an airport, a school, or a shopping center.

Listening carefully. If you hear or know of someone who has bragged or talked about plans to harm citizens in violent attacks or who claims membership in a terrorist organization, take it seriously and report it to law enforcement immediately.

If you see any activity that you deem suspicious, and possibly linked to terrorism, please report it promptly to your local law enforcement agency or to the following agencies:

The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force (203) 503-5000
Connecticut Department of Public Safety, Division of Homeland Security (866) 457-8477