Is Bin Laden still alive and living in the U.S.?
An Ohio man says he has located Osama bin Laden in the United States and wants to claim the U.S. government's $25 million reward.Using an online person search built from phone directories and other public records, Thomas Potter of Olmsted Falls, Ohio, turned up three listings for "Usama bin Laden."
The first listing put the al Qaeda leader at the California headquarters of media giant FOX Entertainment Group. The second placed bin Laden in the office of a Bethesda, Md., Internet firm owned by the son of a former Defense Department official. And the third pinpointed bin Laden's secret hideout as an unidentified location in Hermitage, Tenn.
A self-described "househusband" and 9/11 skeptic -- "I am not a 9/11 conspiracy theorist," he says, "I just do not believe a word of the government's 9/11 conspiracy theory" -- Potter made his discovery this Sunday morning, as part of what he calls a years-long research effort to debunk the "official" version of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
Now, Potter says the government owes him the massive reward it promises to anyone with information leading to the capture of Osama bin Laden.
"I understand that the FBI is offering $25 million," Potter wrote in an e-mail to the Department of Justice, alerting them to his findings. "I would like to know if the reward is tax free and if I could please receive it in cash."
Calls to FOX and the Bethesda Internet firm failed to turn up America's most wanted terrorist.
"There's no Osama that works here. Obviously, this is some sort of a prank," FOX spokesman Scott Grogan told the Blotter on ABCNews.com.
"Unfortunately, I don't" have Osama bin Laden on the payroll, Phil Schmitz of Bethesda Interactive Solutions told ABCNews.com. "I'm sure you wouldn't be the first person to call me if I did."
Schmitz confirmed his father, Joseph, was the top Pentagon watchdog from 2002 to 2005. Joseph Schmitz then joined the Prince Group, which owns the private security contractor Blackwater USA.
"I promise you this has no relation to that," Schmitz said of his father's activities.
So how did bin Laden come to be associated with the two companies in the massive whitepages.com database? It's something of a mystery.
The site does not allow the public to add or amend entries in its database, although individuals can ask to have their information removed.
In an e-mail statement, the company told ABCNews.com only that their listings "originate from publicly available local telephone records and other public information sources." It declined to disclose any further information.
Shortly after ABCNews.com contacted whitepages.com, a search for "Usama Laden," the term Potter used, on the company's site returned only the Tennessee location for "Usama bin Laden." No phone number accompanies that listing.
It is generally accepted that Osama Bin Laden died from kidney failure after many years of service to the US or at least its rulers.
This is indeed good work of investigation, and I would readily accept that it is worth the prize of USD 25 MILL.
The "hits" are very trustworthy as well. If Osama has really been assimilated into the American society, it is very likely that he is working three jobs in order to make ends meet. So all three hits may be correct.
I love the hit on "Fox Entertainment", and I learned a lot from it as well. As the name suggests there must be other companies in the group than "Fox Entertainment", I just never came across any of them!
Anyway, if you did not have the benefit of internet, which company would be more natural to start with?
The internet company would be a sure No. 2 guess, because there is hardly any militant Muslim organization, which is not hosted by a server in the US.
In respect of the award it is well earned, and I am therefore concerned that this good man might not receive the full value of the prize. Therefore, a personal advice is to request that the amount will be disbursed in Shekels at today's exchange rate. If he waits much longer and accepts payment in USD it might not even cover the postage of his letter to the government.
if those leads went to some crazy copycats I would understand it but numbers being linked to US companies is really weird and should be investigated but by who?! Maybe 9/11 commission could do that and try to give us something better this time around?
"Let there be Light!"
Usama bin Muhammad bin 'Awad bin Laden worked for the CIA under the nom de guerre of Tim Osman. Try that for starters.
If that doesn't work, try asking his jewish mother, maiden name Alia Ghane, now perhaps unknown as Hamida al-Attas. Usama used to call her frequently on his INMARSAT phone in the old days. Though she is a sephardic jewess from Palestine (some say Syria), her family lives in ziostan. Try the ziostan phone book.
Alia Ghane was the tenth wife of polygamous oligarch Mohammed bin 'Awad bin Laden , but occupied the "temp" fourth wife slot.
As a jewess, by the time Usama was born, she was scorned by the other wives and ex-wives and she was ostracized by the other women. She refused to wear the head scarf and preferred Armani suits and the fine shops of Beirut. They referred to her as "the slave," in reference to her resentment of her status. Usama was known by the nickname, "son of the slave", so he's real sensitive about what you call him. Could be why he's so hard to get a hold of.
Usama was the 17th child of 54 (some say 55, but whose counting) and Mohammed had 10 (some say 11) wives total. They took away Usama's Saudi citizenship, so calling the family there will most likely be a dead end.
Hope this helps your search.