Urban Moving Systems
and Detained Israelis
by Scott DaVault
2 found with video of
Sears Tower
Michelle Mowad, Special to The Mercury October 17, 2001
The manager confronted the vehicle's operator, a Middle Eastern
man, police said. The man, who later identified himself as Moshe
Elmakias, 30, denied that he did anything and fled the scene,
heading west on West Ridge Pike, according to police.
The manager was able to provide township police with the Florida
registration number of the tractor-trailer and said that a sign
posted on the side of the vehicle read "Moving Systems
Incorporated" and included a phone number, police said.
The area was searched by township police, and the vehicle was
spotted parked on the curb in front of John Kennedy ford on Ridge
Pike, Just west of Industrial Way.
An officer proceeded to make contact with the occupants of the
truck by knocking on the cab, according to reports. A Middle
Eastern man, later identified as Ron Katar, 23, exited the sleeper
area of the cab and said that the operator was across the street as
he pointed toward the Don Rosen porsche dealer, reports said.
Elmakias and a white female, Ayelet Reisler, 23, were
approaching the vehicle from the dealership, but the female then
began walking in a different direction, acting as if she were not
with Elmakias, according to reports.
Reisler was detained and checked for identification. She had a
German passport in her name and medication in a different name,
police said. Plymouth Police Sgt. Thomas Longo was notified and
responded to the incident.
Elmakias allegedly admitted to being behind Pizzeria Uno,
although he said that he did not dump furniture, he was only
turning around. Elmakias said that his destination was New York and
that he was also coming from New York. He said he was in Plymouth
because he was supposed to make a pickup from a male in the morning
and pointed toward the Storage USA facility on Belvoir Road and
West Ridge Pike, police said. Elmakias could not, however, provide
a name or telephone number of the customer. Township police
dispatched a request for a Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program
Inspector.
Officer Gerald Schwartz of the Whitpain Police Department
responded. Schwartz discovered through his investigation that the
operator's log had been falsified and put the truck out of service
due to violations, police said. In addition, the vehicle reportedly
had numerous equipment violations that rendered the truck
unsafe.
Inspection of the tractor-trailer's contents revealed a load
three-quarters full containing household items, including furniture
and boxes. Among the items in the truck was a Sony video
camera.
Plymouth Police Officer David McCann reviewed the tape found
inside the camera. The tape had video footage of Chicago with
zoomed-in shots of the Sears Tower, according to police.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation was notified of the incident
and all three subjects were transported to the Plymouth Police
station. The subjects were then processed through the National
Crime Information center and placed into detention, according to
the report.
FBI Agents James Sweeney and Richard Tofani arrived at the
station and proceeded to investigate both the subjects and their
belongings with the assistance of Immigration and Naturalization
Services. Elmakias and Katar were eventually detained by INS and
transported to a federal facility, said police. Reisler was
released.
All evidence collected by Plymouth and Whitpain officers was
transferred to federal facilities with the exeption of a VCR.
Special Agent Linda Vizi, as spokeswoman for the Philadelphia and
FBI, could not be contacted for comment on further
investigations.
Closer to New York, FBI agents and Bergen County Sheriff's
Department crime scene technicians spent three hours Thursday night
searching the Weehawken headquarters of Urban Moving Systems at 3W
18th St.
Investigators first became interested in the business after
witnesses reported Tuesday that three men seemed to celebrate the
World Trade Center explosions in Liberty State Park, then drove
away in a company van. 'To the best of my knowledge, my client
Urban Moving Systems and Dominik Suter are not targets,' said
attorney Jay Hamill of Jersey City. 'This is an informational
situation. We're cooperating completely and have objected to
nothing they've requested.'
Agents took pictures inside the company's office Thursday night
and seized 13 computer hard drives. They also showed a keen
interest in the roof, which had a very clear view of the World
Trade Center until Tuesday. A half-dozen agents searched the roof
with flashlights and appeared particularly interested in the sight
lines from the roof toward downtown Manhattan.
East Rutherford police stopped an Urban Moving Systems van on
Route 3 Tuesday and detained five men inside, at least some of them
company employees. The occupants said they were all Israelis. They
were being detained because they are in violation of immigration
regulations, and all have expressed a desire to leave the country
on their own, according to an Immigration and Naturalization
Service spokesman. An employee of Urban Moving Systems, who would
not give his name, said the majority of his co-workers are Israelis
and were joking on the day of the attacks.
'I was in tears,' the man said. 'These guys were joking and that
bothered me. These guys were like, "Now America knows what we go
through."
See also:
Israel and 9/11 - Index of What Really
Happened
