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Seven Suspects Arrested in Alleged Terror Plot; Life After Work

Aired June 23, 2006 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips at CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
The alleged Sears Tower terror plot, the Justice Department charges seven, but one expert thinks the case might not hold up.

Plus, forces in hostile territory, possibly the most hostile territory in Iraq. We will take you inside the Eagle's Nest.

And it looks and feels like a heart attack, but doctors say it's something different altogether -- a closer look at broken heart syndrome.

The third hour of LIVE FROM starts right now.

Here's where we are on the terror indictment. Five of the seven suspects appeared this afternoon in federal court in Miami. The feds are calling the men self-styled holy warriors planing a launch -- or planning to launch, rather, a jihad on U.S. soil.

But one of the suspects' mothers says her son is a Christian, a devout Catholic, in fact.

Standing by with the latest from Miami, CNN's John Zarrella -- John.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN MIAMI BUREAU CHIEF: Hi, Kyra.

Well, of course, we are now standing in front of where we have been, what is the infamous warehouse, that nondescript, windowless building where the FBI descended yesterday about 2:00 p.m. Eastern time, went inside, did not find anyone inside, came out, showed mug shots to folks in the area, eventually did find five men here in Miami.

And, of course, they were arrested, taken into custody, and made a first appearance in court today. This warehouse is also where at least a couple of the plots were hatched by the seven individuals named in the indictment released today.

And, in this plot, at least one of those meetings took place in March here in this building with someone who they thought was an al Qaeda operative, but who in fact was a -- an undercover, or a -- an operative for the FBI.

And when they met with this individual, they asked him for everything from boots, to shoes, to -- they gave him the sizes of the shoes that they have needed. And they told him that, at this point, they were willing to -- to bomb an FBI building here in Miami and in other locations, the Sears Tower as well, and other areas in Miami, including the federal building, as well as the -- the Miami Police Department -- again, all thinking that they were dealing with someone who was an al Qaeda representative, but, in fact was an informant who they were talking with.

All this helped the FBI to build its case against these men, helped the federal government to build their case against these men.

Now, it's interesting. When you look inside this building -- and, actually, one of our affiliates took some video earlier today, where you can look through a keyhole. It's part of the lock that was broken out by the -- the FBI when they went inside yesterday afternoon.

And it doesn't look much like a place where terrorist activities were plotted. And it doesn't look like much a place -- a temple, as many of the people that we have talked to, friends, relatives, and one man who claimed to be a member who we talked with, said it was; this was their place of worship, that they were a religious group, and that they were nothing but holy, peaceful people.

In fact, we spoke with the mother of one of the men who is taken into custody and who appeared in court today. And she flat-out cannot believe the allegations against her son.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIZENE PHANOR, MOTHER OF TERRORISM SUSPECT: My son never make nothing wrong -- nothing, nothing. I have 63 years; 63 years I have now. My son never make nothing wrong. My son just go work, go read Bible. After that, every Friday he have money, he just give to me money to pay, to eat, to (INAUDIBLE) us, to take care of yourself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: Now, we were told, of course, that a lot of these men worked construction. They said they worked construction jobs.

We talked to the one man who said that he was part of this group. He said that they carried out karate lessons in here, and that they were planning on opening an restaurant, so, all kinds of things, Kyra, all over the board, as to what they say they were using this facility for.

Neighbors say they were very strange. They dressed all in black. They wouldn't talk to them. They looked straight ahead, never looked them in the eyes, where, again, on the other hand, you talk to family members and friends, who say that these people were nothing but peaceful, religious men who came here to study the Bible and the word of -- and the word of God Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, John Zarrella, thanks so much.

We are still trying to flesh out all the details on each one of these individuals.

We want to get to Atlanta now. And that's where this man, Lyglenson Lemorin, named in the federal indictment as Brother -- I think it's Levi, Levi -- I'm going to ask Rusty in a minute. He was arrested, hauled into federal court. We have learned a little bit about him.

CNN's Rusty Dornin here with that.

It's hard even just getting all the names down.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It -- it is.

PHILLIPS: Everyone says it differently, so...

DORNIN: Well, we just heard from our producer who was over there, Ingrid Arneson (ph).

And, apparently, Lemorin did appear in court. The charges were filed against him. He -- she said he looked very frightened, wearing a white T-shirt, black pants. He was handcuffed behind his back.

His wife, Charlene, was in the courtroom. And Ingrid (ph) did speak to her. She claims he was in the music business, and that he actually went from Miami to Atlanta -- he was arrested in Atlanta yesterday -- to try to find opportunities in the music business.

But I went out to an apartment house where his sister lived and a brother. And there -- there's are a lot of conflicting stories out there. They claim that he was in the construction business and with the group in Miami, and lived with them, and studied religion, and then became upset because they were into some sort of witchcraft -- he would not elaborate on that -- and that Lemorin came back to Atlanta four or five months ago.

And the family here is very shocked and say they're clueless as to how this could have happened. Apparently, he has two children here and, again, a wife. And I think, in a -- in a few minutes, I think the public defender and perhaps his wife might even step up to the microphones at the courthouse and talk a little bit more about this.

PHILLIPS: Well, it seems, like, I mean, not everything is jelling. Everybody has a different story about what they believed, what groups they were attending, where they were, what their careers were.

DORNIN: There's a couple of common things that we have heard from the family in Miami of this gentleman, the family in Miami and the family in Atlanta.

And that is the construction jobs, that he did do some kind of construction work, and that he was studying religion. The -- the witchcraft angle and the music business, these are new things. We -- we can't confirm any of this, as of yet.

PHILLIPS: All right, Rusty Dornin, thanks so much. Well, we are just getting word FBI Director Robert Mueller, he was speaking, actually, in Cleveland earlier today.

Is he still -- this is tape turnaround or is he still speaking there? All right, it's tape turn -- he was speaking at the City Club in Cleveland. A lot of very well known public leaders have -- have spoken to this group. And this was scheduled before everything happened today. But the FBI director did comment on these arrests.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT MUELLER, FBI DIRECTOR: They should feel safe. Not only ourselves, but the CIA, the -- the NSA, state and local law enforcement are protecting our cities in ways that were not, for a variety of reasons, done before September 11.

We are much safer. And -- but -- but you can not say we are totally safe. You have the threat out there. You have the threat from al Qaeda. You have the threat from homegrown terrorists. And we always must be cognizant of that threat, which is why it's important for all of us to be vigilant, to -- to understand what is happening around us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, you can follow this developing story at CNN.com -- included online, the text of the federal indictment against the seven suspects. It makes for pretty interesting reading -- that and more at CNN.com.

Baghdad under curfew -- pedestrians, as well as drivers and their passengers, have to be off the streets in the early afternoons, late evenings, and overnight. The ban was extended after a morning gunfight near a Shiite mosque. Iraqi police say that the four people killed were members of the Mahdi militia loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr who were trying to protect the mosque from another suicide bombing. It's not clear whom they were fighting.

Just to the north, near Baquba, a bomb exploded outside a Sunni mosque just as Friday prayers were ending. At least nine worshipers were killed. Fifteen others were wounded.

And in the southern city of Basra, a car bomb went off near a market and gas station, killing at least two people, wounding 18, the casualty count also going up for U.S. troops. Southeast of Baghdad, two soldiers were killed today by a roadside bomb.

Now, Saddam Hussein skipped lunch, which I mention only because it may be the shortest hunger strike on record. The deposed Iraqi leader and his seven co-defendants were protesting the killing by insurgents of a defense lawyer on Wednesday. They called off their strike last night, just before dinner.

Back to the terror raids in Miami -- our Drew Griffin has been talking with family members. We are going to hear from him.

You're watching LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The terror suspects -- we have been telling you about this all day, after this bust -- five of them in court today in Miami, one in Atlanta.

These are sketches that are just coming in of the five that appeared in Miami. There's still a seventh individual that was arrested. And we are still trying to track down the status of that individual and where he is. But these are the five suspects that were in court in Miami.

And, you know, we have heard from a number of family members from some of these Miami -- Miami terror suspects. Earlier today, our Drew Griffin went to the neighborhood where the men lived and congregated, and, allegedly, contemplated these sinister deeds.

Here is what we learned.

All right, I apologize.

Drew, we have -- do we have you live?

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: I'm here, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: OK.

GRIFFIN: Yes, it is really a tale of two -- two different stories here, Kyra.

We have, on the one hand, the FBI telling us that this is a terrorist plot that they broke up. On the other hand, we have these families, who are total -- in total disbelief that their sons could be involved. I say sons, because Lyglenson and Phanor lived across the street from each other, practically grew up with each other, across the street from each other.

They're both the sons of -- of Haitian immigrants. And their mothers both talked to me, telling me how deeply religious their sons are, how deeply Christian their sons are, and would have nothing to do with al Qaeda or any kind of a -- a Muslim group.

They said that this was a devout Christian prayer group that their sons belonged to. And they had never seen any signs of any kind of -- of terrorist trouble or plotting or any of this stuff that the FBI is -- is talking about. And, certainly, the mothers were very open to talk to us about that.

PHILLIPS: Are you able to see -- do you have a monitor there where you can see the seven pictures of the suspects?

Can we bring that up again?

GRIFFIN: I -- I...

PHILLIPS: Are you able to -- can you see this?

GRIFFIN: Yes. I saw those seven suspects.

PHILLIPS: OK. You can see the seven?

Can you tell me which -- I know you talked to the mother of one of these men. Can you -- can you tell me which one it is? Do you know? I know it's kind of hard to make out.

GRIFFIN: I -- I don't know from this seven-pack. I couldn't tell you.

But it's Stanley Phanor.

PHILLIPS: OK. I think we have got a single shot. There we go.

GRIFFIN: Also known as Sunni.

And Mr. Lyglenson, who was arrested in Atlanta. Mr. Lyglenson's mother told us he was in Atlanta to attend a wedding this weekend and also some other family matters. And he had some business up in Atlanta. But, primarily, he was there to attend a wedding.

Mr. Phanor lives in Miami. He splits his time between his mother's home and his sister's home. He is a construction worker. They say he brings home his paycheck every week and hands it over to momma, even though he's 31-some years old, hands over his paycheck to momma every week. She uses it to pay the rent and gives it to the sister, so she can help raise her five children -- the mother pleading with us, pleading with me to please do something to release her son.

As you will -- you are about to here, she wants her son released, because he basically is supporting two separate families.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHANOR: My son never make nothing wrong -- nothing, nothing. I have 63 years; 63 years, I have now. My son never make nothing wrong. My son just go work, go read Bible. After that, every Friday he have money, he just give to me money to pay, to eat, to (INAUDIBLE) us, to take care of yourself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: That woman, his mother, Elizene, took us into her house. She showed us the home improvement projects that her son did. He's a tiler. He -- she showed us his tools for the tiling trade and all the work he has done on her home, made us see the -- the actual furniture in her home that her son bought.

And she also even, to try to prove things to us, brought out his clothes, and showed us that these were the clothes of a construction worker, with paint drippings, and plaster, and work boots all over them. And then she also brought us his Bible, his Bible that was with his tools at that home.

She said they simply must have the wrong guy, or there must be some kind of trouble.

Also, I said Lyglenson Lemorin was in Atlanta for a wedding. It's a graduation, a college graduation, of his sister. So, I misspoke there.

But, basically, Kyra, we have got families here that -- that this was complete news to them. These are two -- two sons who live with these people. And they had no idea that any of this terrorist activity was going on. And they simply don't believe it.

PHILLIPS: Well, so, what -- what is your take when you talked to them about the religious aspect? I mean, did any of these men talk about an organization they were involved with, or that they were studying religion in any way? Or did -- did they -- did -- they were just totally clueless that these men were involved in any type of religious functions at all?

GRIFFIN: No, this was a -- this was a religious group, Kyra. Make no mistake about it. And do they call themselves the Seas of David.

A cousin of Phanor told me that the Seas of David refers to the warriors of David and Saul back in the ancient biblical days, and they follow biblical scriptures strictly along these lines, with the sons of David.

He says their black uniforms were actually just black dickeys, kind of like those construction worker outfits in black, in which they had the Star of David on their -- on their sleeve.

And he said they did practice self-defense. It was part of their self-control, denying themselves alcohol, denying themselves women, denying themselves any kind of what they would deem as inappropriate entertainment.

And -- and -- and the cousins say that, from the outside, may have appeared odd to some people. But he said it was all part of their biblically based Christian religious philosophy.

I don't know much more than that. And I'm certainly no religious scholar. We have been searching for background on the Seas of David. But, right now, I can tell you that these men, according to their mothers, a cousin, one ex-wife, were deeply devout followers of the Bible, and were not involved at any way with al Qaeda and certainly were not Muslim.

PHILLIPS: Drew Griffin out of Miami -- thanks so much, Drew, for chasing that part of the story.

From the investigation to the courtroom, will the government's case against these suspects hold in court? We are going to hear what a former prosecutor has to say about the case -- when LIVE FROM returns. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, talk about a power lunch. The world's second richest man is offering himself up to have lunch with you. That's if you are the highest bidder.

Stephanie Elam is at the New York Stock Exchange to explain -- Stephanie.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

That's right. You could dine with Warren Buffett, but you are going to have to pay the right price. Lunch with the oracle of Omaha is currently being auctioned off on eBay -- the highest bidder as of now, $455,100, the most ever bid -- the most -- biggest bid, I should say.

Buffett has been donating these lunches ever since 2000. Every year, he has been doing it, too. Proceeds go to San Francisco's Glide Foundation, which offers programs for the poor, hungry and homeless.

This year's coveted meal will take place at Smith & Wollensky, a Manhattan steak house. The auction ends next Thursday. So, Kyra, you know, you still have a little bit of time to get your bid in.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Yes, right.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: I would have to dig deep in those pockets.

All right. Let's talk about the markets. Those are wrapping up today.

ELAM: That's right. The blue chips are back in the red. Stocks, overall, though, are mixed, and investors are weighing a couple of billion-dollar deals in the energy sector against continued worries about inflation and higher interest rates.

The Federal Reserve will meet next week to decide on its next rate move. Now, checking the latest numbers, right now, the Dow industrials are down just about 20 points, 10999 -- and the Nasdaq composite on the upside, just barely, by about a third-of-a-point at 2123.

PHILLIPS: All right, well, we hear that you had a special guest down there this morning; is that right?

ELAM: That's true.

New York Yankees center fielder Johnny Damon was down here. He stopped by to have a little quick chat. He rang the opening bell as well, getting a pretty warm welcome from the traders. And with all the cheering on the floor, it seems that Yankees fan pretty much outnumber Met fans here.

I got a chance to ask the former Red Sox player about that early.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: You are playing for the Yankees. So, you know, there's got to be some Mets fans in here. Have you gotten any teasing around here?

JOHNNY DAMON, NEW YORK YANKEES: Oh, yes, Mets, Red Sox fans, all of them.

But -- but everyone has been pretty good, so -- tons of Yankees fans. And, you know, they are excited about our season and how we're doing. And they know we are going to get better.

ELAM: Now, has anyone given you any tips here while you have been down on the floor? Have you learned anything? Are you an avid trader?

DAMON: I pay someone to do that. You know, that -- that's why I went off and got that big contract.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: So, as you can see, he's a pretty gracious guy. The whole time, he was walking around, signing autographs. It looked like it was a lot of fun for the traders as well -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Hey, looking a lot better with that shorter hair, wouldn't you say?

ELAM: Yes.

PHILLIPS: I like him less scruffy.

ELAM: Yes. No, I got lots of e-mails like, oh, my gosh, he's looking good.

(LAUGHTER)

ELAM: So, yes, I think -- I think they're liking it.

PHILLIPS: Straight out of "GQ."

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: All right, Steph, thanks so much.

ELAM: Sure.

PHILLIPS: Well, early-bird dinner specials are usually popular with the older crowd. But it is the actual diner that has provided a great passion for one retired man.

CNN's Valerie Morris explains in this week's "Life After Work." (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIO MONTI, AUTHOR, "A DIRECTORY OF DINERS": My name is Mario Monti. I'm 76 years old. I'm a retired teacher and a diner-holic.

VALERIE MORRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mario says a diner-holic is someone who is hooked on the history and location of diners. He and his wife, Lucille, have been chasing diners for nearly 15 years. Their research led to his book, "A Directory of Diners," which lists thousands of eateries around the world.

MONTI: It's like being a Yankee fan or a Dodger fan. Something strikes you about it, and I just love it.

MORRIS: Mario has visited, eaten in, or photographed a whopping 866 diners. The allure, he says, is that they put you at ease.

MONTI: The people in there are always friendly. They're always willing to smile at you. And your coffee cup is always full.

MORRIS: So what does a diner-holic, like Mario, actually order?

MONTI: In the past it was meat loaf, mashed potatoes, carrots with blueberry pie and tea. Nowadays, it's more like a grilled cheese.

(LAUGHTER)

MORRIS: He is also working on a book called "Diners of New York." But, despite the enthusiasm for his subject matter, Mario insists he has no plans to open his own.

MONTI: Absolutely not. These hairs would be all gone.

(LAUGHTER)

MONTI: That's good.

MORRIS: Valerie Morris, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Homegrown terrorists or peace-loving Bible students training to defend themselves? That's up to the courts to determine now. Six men in Miami, one in Atlanta, they all faced federal judges today, hours after an FBI anti-terrorism raid.

Here's CNN homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Officials describe the alleged plot as being more aspirational than operational. They say they moved in preemptively, after the group had taken surveillance pictures, but before they had obtained explosives to carry out what authorities say was a plot to blow up FBI headquarters in Miami, the Sears Tower in Chicago, and other buildings.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales talked about their alleged intentions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALBERTO GONZALES, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: These individuals wished to wage a -- a -- quote -- "full-ground war against the United States." That quote is from the investigation of these individuals, who also allegedly stated the desire to -- quote -- "kill all the devils we can." They hoped for their attacks to be -- quote -- "just as good or greater than 9/11."

MESERVE: Officials say authorities were tipped off after the leader of this group talked about his intent to stage an attack against the United States.

Law enforcement then used an informant posing as a member of al Qaeda to gather evidence and information, including details of the plot and requests for al Qaeda training and equipment, including firearms, bulletproof vests, and money.

All seven of these individuals are alleged to have taken an oath of loyalty to al Qaeda -- the charges, that they conspired to maliciously damage and destroy the Sears Tower in Chicago and the FBI building in Miami and that they conspired to levy war against the United States.

Who were these people? Justice Department officials describe them as believing that the United States government did not have authority over them. Some had served time in prison, but none in connection with terrorism. Two were of Haitian origin, one in the country illegally. The rest born right here in the United States.

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