More on Ptech from Boston Globe

Date: Monday, December 09, 2002 11:08 AM

H-1B and JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER

www.ZaZona.com

Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations,
should think twice before he starts defending Ptech. He is worried about
"guilt by accusation" when he should be more concerned with the questionable
statements that Ptech spokesmen have made to the press.

Ptech's vice president said that all of his employees are US citizens, and
yet the LCA Database at www.ZaZona.com/LCA-Data shows that possibly 14 out
of 25 of his employees are H-1Bs. Something is not quite adding up.

So why should anybody care if Ptech hires H-1Bs?

The very fact that H-1Bs can have access to government data is scary indeed,
especially considering that H-1B visa holders are foreign nationals that
aren't required to undergo security checks. This business, partly owned by a
Saudi businessman who U.S. officials believe is a financier for Al-Qaida,
has customers that include the FBI, the Federal Aviation Administration, the
Air Force, the Naval Air Services Command, the Energy Department, the IRS,
the Postal Service and the House of Representatives. Ptech has done work
for NATO and it's customers include major companies like I.B.M., Aetna,
Motorola and
Sprint.

The potential for terrorism and espionage should be quite obvious.

This newsletter, and my previous one, will be sent to the author of this
article in hopes that she will further investigate who Ptech employed and
why our government is allowing foreign nationals to run their computer
systems.

www.globe.com

Boston Globe

FEDERAL PROBE RAISES QUESTIONS IN MIDDLE EASTERN COMMUNITY

Author(s): Jenna Russell, Globe Staff Date: December 8, 2002 Page: B12
Section: Metro/Region

Raising the specter of terrorist connections - and casting doubt, once
again, on the loyalties of Middle Eastern Americans - the late-night search
of a Quincy software firm by federal agents prompted a flurry of hate mail
to the company, while area residents with Middle Eastern origins reacted
with a mix of acceptance and dismay.

A small company where about half of the 25 employees have roots in the
Middle East, Ptech Inc. came under suspicion because of a tip from a former
employee about possible ties to a suspected terrorist financier. No charges
were filed after the search early Friday morning, and it was unclear if
investigators from the US Customs Service uncovered any evidence. But that
didn't stop the company's Web site from being flooded with angry e-mails
Friday, as soon as the media began reporting the investigation and possible
terrorist connections.

"We've received a tremendous amount of hate mail," said Joe Johnson, a Ptech
vice president.

The aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks touched Boston's high-tech
computer industry earlier this fall, when an engineer at the MathWorks
software firm in Natick was deported to his native Syria on suspicion of
belonging to Al Qaeda, stunning his colleagues.

The aggressive nature of the Ptech investigation - and inconclusive
results - concerned Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, an Islamic advocacy group based in Washington,
D.C. The government's findings should be made public, he said, and any
wrongdoing should be addressed in court.

"We're always concerned about the possibility of guilt by association, guilt
by accusation," Hooper said. "What we've seen since Sept. 11 is that an
accusation can be enough. Those accused should have a chance to rebut."

Oussama Ziade, Ptech's Lebanese-born founder, was described as a deeply
religious man by former employees, who said the Marina Bay office included a
prayer room for Muslim workers. Johnson said all of the employees are US
citizens, and that a number of them were out of the office last week because
of Ramadan.

Boston-area Middle Easterners concerned about racial profiling were slow to
condemn the investigation without knowing more about its findings. Adel
Moustafa, a doctor and medical school dean who lives in Concord, said his
gut reaction to the news about Ptech was, "Oh my God, if this is true, it's
a disaster," followed by "Good, they're going after them."

"I consider myself an American - this is my country, and I have a tendency
to believe the government," said Moustafa, 62, who came to the United States
40 years ago from Egypt. "If any company, or ethnic group, is doing
something illegal, we've got to get them. . . . This is how the Muslim
community gets the image it has."

Plenty of Muslims would disagree, he acknowledged. But he said those who
feel unfairly targeted are newer to the country, and influenced by the
anti-American sentiment of their homeland. "In my judgment it takes 10 to 15
years to understand America, and what democracy is all about," he said.

Zaheer Ali, 56, a Pakistan-born engineer from Sudbury, said it's hard to
gauge racial profiling because media coverage may make it seem like Middle
Easterners are being disproportionately targeted.

"Security is fine; but, on the other hand, [there] are the rights of the
people," he said. "Parity is the key. If the proportion is the same, then we
don't have to worry about it."

© Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company

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