Newspaper Reports

The following articles appeared in the Syracuse Post Standard. To give the gist of the article a few sentences from the article appear below it. To read the article in its entirety go to the home page of The Post Standard Syracuse.com. A few of the articles have links you can click on. Articles are from February 2003 to October 2003.

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U.S. SAYS CNY CHARITY BROKE IRAQ SANCTIONS; 4 MEN WITH LOCAL TIES ARE CHARGED.
Feb 27, 2003 pA1 Byline: John O'Brien Staff writer; Staff writers Renee K. Gadoua and Jim Reilly and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Three Onondaga County men, including a Rome oncologist from Manlius, Dr. Rafil Dhafir, solicited more than $5 million over the Internet and by mail, according to federal prosecutors. They raised the money through two charities, Help the Needy and Help the Needy Endowment, claiming it would help starving and oppressed Iraqis, prosecutors said….

Suddaby would not say how federal prosecutors know the donations didn't go for humanitarian aid.

"As President Bush leads an international coalition to end Saddam Hussein's tyranny and support for terror, the Justice Department will see that individuals within our borders cannot undermine these efforts," Attorney General John Ashcroft said of the arrests. "Those who covertly seek to channel money into Iraq under the guise of charitable work will be caught and prosecuted."

The arrests were not timed to coincide with a possible war with Iraq, Suddaby said.

Since 1994, Help the Needy transferred nearly $4 million from two local banks to accounts in Zagha's name at the Jordan Islamic Bank in Amman, the indictment said. From there, at least $160,000 was transferred across the Jordanian border to people in Iraq, according to the indictment. Suddaby said it's unknown how much money in all got to Iraq…

If convicted, Dhafir and Zagha would each face up to 265 years in prison and $14.25 million in fines. Jarwan and Al Wahaidy would face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Suddaby said there's no evidence that any of the Help the Needy money went to al-Qaida, the Iraqi government, or to buy arms and bullets that could be used against U.S. soldiers.

"We don't have answers to those questions yet," he said.

Federal investigators tracked the money through bank records, but once it got to Iraq, it became impossible to trace, he said.

"The indictment alleges that money has gone in an improper way to areas that we know are not for charitable organizations," Suddaby said.

The investigation began three years ago after one or both of the local banks where the defendants deposited the donations filed "suspicious activity reports" with police, Suddaby said. He commended Key Bank and Oneida Savings Bank.

Dhafir and Help the Needy have been "very publicly" collecting humanitarian aid for people who are oppressed and starving in Iraq, Menkin said.>>

The arrests stunned the Muslim community in Syracuse.

"This is a difficult time for Muslims," Kobeisy said.

HELP THE NEEDY: A CHARITY, AN OFFICE, A MAIL BOX, A WEB SITE. Feb 27, 2003 pA8; Byline: Frank Brieaddy Staff writer

A donor with sympathy for the plight of ordinary Iraqi citizens and little experience in researching charities might have been inclined to send a check to Help the Needy Endowment Inc.

Its Internet site (www.help****theneedy.net ) explains the travails of the Iraqi people suffering from lack of food and medicine under United Nations sanctions; shows pictures of hungry and diseased children; and offers the opportunity to support an orphan for $25 a month or a family for $45 a month.

Anyone inclined to take a closer look at the organization wouldn't find much at all, beyond its promise to "... provide care, support and relief to people in need throughout the world."…

The indictment charges that the group had been operating Help the Needy as an unincorporated charity since at least 1995.

"FLIGHT RISK' IN CNY CHARITY BUST, FEDS SAY; BAIL SOUGHT FOR 2 CHARGED WITH HELPING IRAQ. Feb 28, 2003 pA1,Byline: John Mariani Staff writer

Federal prosecutors are expected to ask a magistrate today to hold without bail two men accused of illegally funneling money to Iraq through a Syracuse charity…

Joseph A. Pavone, first assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York, said Thursday that prosecutors will ask Peebles to order Dhafir and Jarwan held without bail.

"The basis for that is they are a flight risk," Pavone said. He wouldn't comment further, saying federal lawyers will outline their reasons in court. Lawyers for the two men say they expected the move and will ask Peebles for minimal bail.

Menkin declined to discuss the charges against Dhafir, but said pretrial release was essential in a case as complicated as this.

"Holding a person without bail is the most severe sanction you can impose on somebody prior to trial," he said. "It deprives a person of the ability to mount even a rudimentary defense."

MUSLIM COMMUNITY SCARED IN AFTERMATH OF FEDERAL STING. Feb 28, 2003 pA8; Byline: Renee K. Gadoua Staff writer

Effects of the federal investigation of Help the Needy continued to ripple through the Central New York Muslim community Thursday.

"People are frightened," said Betsy Wiggins, co-founder of Women Transcending Boundaries. "They are thinking of leaving the country. They think if you don't have your green card you never will get it."

Women Transcending Boundaries began as an interfaith response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. She spoke to two women who related the stories of many other Muslim women who said federal officials interrogated them Wednesday.

"It was as though her house were on fire," she said of one woman's experience. "All these vans and trucks came screaming into her driveway and they flashed their IDs. No one had any clue why they were being interrogated."

"We attest to the good character of these members of our community and hope that the allegations against them are wrong," the Islamic society said in a prepared statement.

Jim Wiggins, executive director of the InterReligious Council of Central New York, expressed concern for the constitutional rights of the arrested and people interviewed by federal officials.

"We absolutely support due process and the presumption of innocent until proven guilty," he said. "To whatever extent there is any religious bias here, we deplore it."

PATIENTS UNSURE WHERE TO GO FOR CARE; SEVERAL PEOPLE TREATED BY DR. DHAFIR SAY HE IS A CARING DOCTOR WHO LISTENS. Feb 28, 2003 pA8; Byline: Glenn Coin Staff writer ; Staff writer John Mariani contributed to this report.

Dr. Rafil Dhafir is a kind, caring oncologist who listens to his patients and carefully answers their questions, several patients said Thursday.

"You couldn't have a better doctor," said Mary Bush, 77, of Rome, who was treated for cancer by Dhafir. "I always thought he was such a soft-spoken, very nice man."…

Bush said she's not sure where she will get her continuing treatments now.

"I don't know, I don't know," she said. "I'm hoping somebody will tell us. He has a lot of patients. Every time I went there the waiting room was full."

The phone number to Dhafir's office was out of service Thursday afternoon. The woman who answered the phone at Dhafir's answering service said she did not know when anyone would be back in the office…

"It's kind of scary because you're coming here for treatments and they have all your records and you have to continue your treatments," she said.

Federal investigators seized medical records and other files from Dhafir's office on Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

HELP THE NEEDY LISTS NO FINANCIAL ACTIVITY FOR 2001. Feb 28, 2003 pA8; Byline: Frank Brieaddy Staff writer

Help the Needy Endowment's applications for nonprofit status, filed in August 2002 with the state and federal government, make no mention of aid to Iraq and say the charity collected no money and made no grants in 2001.

JUDGE CONSIDERS DHAFIR A FLIGHT RISK. March 1, 2003 pA1; Byline: John Mariani and Teri Weaver Staff writers

A federal magistrate Friday accepted the government's position that Dr. Rafil Dhafir's assets, overseas contacts and fund-raising ability are too extensive to grant him bail before his trial on charges he illegally funneled charity money to Iraq.

"I don't know if there is any amount of money that could be offered" that would keep Dhafir from fleeing the country, Magistrate David Peebles said after a three-hour detention hearing in a packed U.S. District courtroom in Syracuse.

"Time and again, he has indicated he is going to skirt the law, avoid the law," Peebles said. Peebles said he considered attorney Edward Z. Menkin's argument that Dhafir, a well-known oncologist, and his wife, Priscilla, an area business leader, maintained strong ties to the community. The magistrate said "she may have complicity in some of the criminality and****may have reason to flee." Peebles did not elaborate about Priscilla Dhafir, who is not charged.

Dhafir, 54, of Manlius, was born and educated in Iraq. He has lived in Central New York for 20 years and is now a U.S. citizen. He has three siblings who remain in Iraq. "This court needs to consider his ties to the Middle East," Sannes said.

Dhafir's passport shows he took trips in 2002 to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, she said.

He knows large donors overseas who could help him raise money and has contacts who have arranged travel visas for him in the past, Sannes said. Investigators intercepted an e-mail of Dhafir's in July that indicated he was interested in setting up a cancer center in Saudi Arabia, she said. He had contacted Rome Memorial Hospital about selling his practice, Sannes added.

A friend in Qatar had offered him a consulting job in December, and indicated it could become permanent, she said.

Sannes said Dhafir also had "significant overseas assets," some of which he failed to disclose to pretrial investigators. The assets include $50,000 in gold in Montreal, she said.

"Our country is Dr. Dhafir's country as well. He's a citizen of the United States," Menkin said. "He is a man of his word."

"His heart breaks just like everybody else's heart breaks for the people in that country," Menkin said of Dhafir's native Iraq.

Peebles, however, noted that the St. Lawrence River had frozen over, permitting illegal immigrants to drive across the waterway from Canada - and possibly giving Dhafir an avenue out of the country.

DOCTOR TOLD DONORS HE WAS HELPING IRAQI CHILDREN. March 2, 2003 pA16; Byline: Paul Riede Staff writer

A Manlius man accused of funneling money illegally to Iraq told a congregation of Quakers last spring that his main interest was helping Iraqi children who were dying because they had no access to proper medical care.

2 OF 4 MEN ARRESTED WERE HERE ON VISAS. March 3, 2003 pA4;Byline: Luis Perez Staff writer

Two of the four men federal prosecutors accused of funneling money to Iraq through Help the Needy are living in the United States on visas.

WITNESS FREED; SUSPECT HELD; IRAQI CHARITY PROBE; March 4, 2003 pA1: Byline: John O'Brien and John Mariani Staff writer

A Syracuse man arrested Saturday as a potential witness against four men accused of sending money to Iraq was ordered released from jail Monday while one of the defendants must stay behind bars.

U.S. Magistrate David Peebles ordered the release of Ismail Diab, whom federal prosecutors said has information relevant to their case against the four men. The men were charged last week with conspiring to use the charity Help the Needy to send money to Iraq in violation of U.S. sanctions.

FEDS: IRAQI RELATIVES GOT MONEY; SOME CHARITY MONEY WENT TO BUY PROPERTY IN SYRACUSE, FEDERAL DOCUMENTS SAY. March 5, 2003 pA1;Byline: John O'Brien and John Mariani /Staff writers Renee K. Gadoua and Jim Reilly contributed to this report.

A Syracuse charity that was supposed to be sending money to starving children in Iraq instead helped fund two organizations that the federal government says were financing terrorist groups, according to investigators.

That was among the revelations in more than 150 pages of court documents unsealed Tuesday by a federal judge. The papers filed by federal prosecutors in U.S. District Court also include these claims:

Mark Sweeney, a special agent with the Internal Revenue Service, filed a 100-page affidavit laying out the evidence.

The IRS is investigating whether the donations Help the Needy solicited for oppressed people in Iraq were diverted to other purposes there, Sweeney wrote. The investigation is looking into money diverted in 1997 and 1998 to a partnership of Dhafir and more recently to build mosques in Iraq, fund preachers and "promote a strain of Islam known as Salafism," the affidavit said.

French scholar Gilles Kepel told The New York Times last year that Salafism was a fundamentalist, aggressive form of Islam that Osama bin Laden follows. But a local scholar says that view is inaccurate. He describes Salafism as a revival movement in Arab Islam that is not Islamic fundamentalism.

"These groups do humanitarian work," said Keith Watenpaugh, who teaches Eastern Mediterranean and Islamic History at LeMoyne College. "They do oppose governments, but they are not violent. They advocate peaceful change."

In another development Tuesday, Al Wahaidy was fired from his part-time teaching position at the State University College at Oswego, college spokeswoman Julie Harrison Blissert confirmed Tuesday night.

"It's true," she said. "It happened this afternoon, although I didn't find out about it until this evening."

She said college officials would not say why al Wahaidy had been fired. A statement from the college Monday read, in part, "The accusation against him is not cause in itself for any personnel action."

OTHER GROUP HELPING IN IRAQ NOT PROSECUTED. March 7, 2003 pA1 Byline: Renee K. Gadoua Staff writer

The same federal act used to indict three Central New Yorkers accused of illegally sending money to Iraq has not been enforced against at least a dozen local residents who openly violated U.S. law by traveling there.

The International Emergency Economic Powers Act authorizes U.S. sanctions against Iraq. Four Muslims, including three Onondaga County residents, were indicted Feb. 26 on charges that include violating the act by using the Syracuse-based charity Help the Needy to send money to Iraq without a license.

About 600 people have brought medical supplies and other goods with them to Iraq since the Chicago-based peace group Voices in the Wilderness formed in 1996. Group officials and supporters said they are unaware of any arrests or investigations of the organization. It and four delegates face $50,000 in fines imposed by the federal Office of Foreign Assets Control in November because the group delivered medicine without a permit to Iraq in 1998.

"Every time we send a delegation to Iraq we break the sanctions," said Bitta Mostofi, speaking for Voices in the Wilderness. "We do it intentionally and knowingly." Two Central New Yorkers, Cynthia Banas of Vernon and Ed Kinane of Syracuse, are in Iraq as part of a peace delegation with Voices in the Wilderness.

Glenn Suddaby, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York, said he is not familiar with Voices in the Wilderness or any investigation of the group or its donors.

"This (Help the Needy) is a fraud case that's occurred here," he said. "Funneling money to Iraq is only part of this investigation."..<>P>

"It's very telling about the policies of this country that Muslims and people affiliated with it (the Muslim community) are handcuffed and so quickly taken away when relatively all-white, Christian peace groups have been treated as we have, which is the threat of fines or minimal fines," Mostofi said.

SYRACUSANS COMMIT TO IRAQ; CYNTHIA BANAS, ED KINANE WILL CONTINUE TO DEFY U.S. SANCTIONS, STAY IN IRAQ. March 7, 2003 pA12: Renee K. Gadoua Staff writer

When Cynthia Banas left Central New York for Iraq in October, she carried a suitcase filled with parts for musical instruments.

She gave the woodwind reeds, brass mouthpieces and strings to the Baghdad Symphony Orchestra, which has been unable to get replacement parts for their instruments since the U.S. sanctions restricted many items from going to the country, she said in a recent phone interview from Iraq.

Banas of Vernon is one of two Central New Yorkers in Iraq with Voices in the Wilderness, a Chicago-based group that deliberately violates the U.S.-U.N. economic sanctions against Iraq. She and Ed Kinane of Syracuse have said they plan to stay indefinitely in Iraq.

SUDDABY SAYS HE'LL MEET WITH MUSLIMS. March 7, 2003 pC5 Byline: Renee K. Gadoua Staff writer

Central New York's top federal prosecutor said he is eager to meet with local Muslims concerned about the Help the Needy investigation.

"If they want to talk to me, I'd be glad to do it," said Glenn Suddaby, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York. "I'd be willing to meet with them wherever they want - at the mosque, at the corner, at Dunkin' Donuts."

HOW THE FEDS BROKE THE IRAQ CHARITY CASE; HELP THE NEEDY PROBE INCLUDED BUGS, TRASH SEARCHES AND FINANCIAL SLEUTHING. March 9, 2003 pA1;Byline: John O'Brien and John Mariani Staff writers

In spring 1999, red flags pop up at Fleet Bank. Someone has been depositing between $9,000 and $9,900 into one account almost every day.

Fast forward to Feb. 26, 2003, just after 6 a.m.

Dr. Rafil Dhafir is driving a few blocks from his Manlius home on the way to his oncology practice in Rome. A state trooper and two federal investigators pull him over in his tan 2001 Lexus.

Meanwhile, Osameh Al Wahaidy opens the door of his Fayetteville home. Ayman Jarwan does the same at his Syracuse apartment. They find investigators armed with search and arrest warrants.

LAWYER URGES BAIL FOR DOCTOR; JUDGE WITHHOLDS DECISION ON RAFIL DHAFIR, WHO IS ACCUSED IN HELP THE NEEDY PROBE.. March 28, 2003 pB2; Byline: John O'Brien Staff writer

Dr. Rafil Dhafir, accused of illegally sending money to people in Iraq, was portrayed Thursday as a man of honor or duplicity.

Dhafir's lawyer, Edward Z. Menkin, asked a federal judge to let his client out of jail on bail. Dhafir, 55, of Manlius, was charged Feb. 26 with using Help the Needy, a Syracuse-based charity, to funnel money to people in Iraq in violation of a U.S. embargo. Menkin called two witnesses who said Dhafir would keep his word and return to court if U.S. District Judge Norman Mordue released him on bail. Menkin asked Mordue to reconsider a March 5 decision by U.S. Magistrate David Peebles to not release Dhafir because the risk was too great that he would flee.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brenda Sannes told Mordue that the evidence shows Dhafir isn't who he portrays himself to be. Dhafir had access to $154,000 in cash in a safe deposit box and owns nine properties in Onondaga County - none of which he lists in his name or revealed to the court, she said.

"He has a strong motive to flee," Sannes said, citing the strength of the evidence and Dhafir's access to wealth and contacts in the Middle East.

LOCAL CHARITY DEFENDANT ACCUSED OF TAX EVASION; DOCTOR ACCUSED IN HELP THE NEEDY CASE FACES CHARGES REGARDING 1996-2001 TAXES. April 10, 2003 pB2; Byline: John O'Brien Staff writer

A Central New York doctor accused of illegally sending money to Iraq was charged Wednesday with evading personal income taxes for six years.

A federal grand jury indicted Dr. Rafil Dhafir, 55, of Manlius, on six counts of tax evasion, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Glenn Suddaby. The release said Dhafir was accused of trying to evade taxes from 1996 through 2001. But the release provided no other details about the charges, and the indictment had not been filed in the federal court clerk's office.

The tax evasion charges were in an indictment that adds charges to an indictment handed up in February against Dhafir and three other men connected to the Syracuse-based charity Help the Needy.

DEAL REACHED IN CHARITY CASE; SECOND DEFENDANT ADMITS IN FEDERAL COURT TO HELPING SEND MONEY TO IRAQ. . April 26, 2003 pB3: Byline: John Mariani Staff writer ,

What Ayman Jarwan did at Help the Needy, a Syracuse-based charity, was illegal, his lawyer said Friday. But it wasn't immoral, he added.

"He was involved in a conspiracy to provide food and humanitarian aid to starving people in Iraq," defense lawyer James McGraw said Friday after Jarwan pleaded guilty in Federal Court to conspiring with officials of the Syracuse-based charity to violate sanctions against sending money to Iraq.

"It was our opinion it was a very noble effort on his behalf, although it was a violation," McGraw said.

U.S. Attorney Glenn T. Suddaby didn't see it that way.

"I'll stand by what he pleaded to," Suddaby said.

Muslims unite over worries about bias At event Saturday, members cite a concern that ignorance leads to fear of them.

LAWYER: BUILDING SALE NOT HURRIED; WIFE OF DOCTOR CHARGED IN IRAQ CHARITY CASE SOLD BUILDING DAY AFTER HIS ARREST. May 16, 2003 pB2; Byline: John Mariani Staff writer

The day after Dr. Rafil Dhafir was charged with violating U.S. sanctions against Iraq in the Help the Needy charity case, his wife sold the Wampsville building that used to house his medical practice.

But the timing of Dhafir's arrest Feb. 26 and the sale by his wife, Priscilla, of the building she owned at 104 Genesee St. on Feb. 27 was purely coincidental, said Edward Z. Menkin, Dr. Dhafir's lawyer.

"She was selling it because they had negotiated a sale months ago," Menkin said. "It was an ordinary transaction that was in the process," Menkin said. "There was nothing urgent or hurried about the transaction."

TROY MAN ASSISTED DEWITT CHARITY; BUSINESSMAN ADMITS HE LET HELP THE NEEDY CONCEAL GIFTS THROUGH SOMALI RELIEF FUND. May 17, 2003 pB1; Byline: John O'Brien Staff writer

A computer company president from Troy admitted Friday that he helped disguise the source of some of the money that a DeWitt charity illegally sent to Iraq.

Ahmed Yusef Ali pleaded guilty to filing false documents with the Internal Revenue Service from 1999 through 2001 by overstating the income and expenses of a tax-exempt organization he ran, the Somali Relief Fund. Ali admitted he let Dr. Rafil Dhafir hide some donations made to Dhafir's DeWitt organization, Help the Needy, by reporting them as donations made to the Somali Relief Fund.

LAWYER WANTS CHARGES DROPPED; DR. RAFIL DHAFIR HAD RELIGIOUS OBLIGATION TO SEND AID TO IRAQ'S NEEDY, LAWYER ARGUES. May 23, 2003 pB3; Byline: Mike McAndrew Staff writer

The federal government is violating Dr. Rafil Dhafir's rights to worship as a Muslim by prosecuting him for sending money to Iraq, his lawyer argued this week in seeking a dismissal of the criminal charges.

Under the principles of Islam, Dhafir, 55, of 5408 Springview Drive, had a religious obligation to provide charitable assistance to the needy of Iraq, and the government is prohibited by the First Amendment from regulating the free exercise of religion, lawyer Edward Menkin contends….

The U.S. attorney's office has not accused Dhafir of committing any terrorism crimes. Investigators have alleged Help the Needy made donations to two charities that in 2002 were outlawed by the U.S. government because of suspected terrorist ties.

Menkin asked U.S. District Judge Norman Mordue to release Dhafir so that he can help prepare a defense to the charges.

Keeping Dhafir in custody since his Feb. 26 arrest "constitutes a great burden on my client's ability to defend himself," Menkin said. Dhafir is a naturalized American citizen who was born in Iraq.

34 OFFER TO HELP BAIL OUT DOCTOR; LAWYER AGAIN REQUESTS BAIL FOR MAN ACCUSED OF ILLEGALLY SENDING MONEY TO IRAQ. June 6, 2003 pB3;Byline: John O'Brien Staff writer

Nearly three dozen people have pledged their property or cash for the release from jail of a Manlius doctor accused of illegally sending money to Iraq.

A lawyer for Dr. Rafil Dhafir asked a federal judge Wednesday to release Dhafir on bail, and submitted the signatures of 57 Onondaga County residents supporting the request. An additional 34 people offered to put up property or cash totaling $1.2 million to secure Dhafir's release, according to court papers filed by his lawyer, Edward Z. Menkin.

Some offered as little as $50 in cash. Some offered their cars. One offered her personal computer. Others offered property worth $500,000.

In addition to those properties, Dhafir and his brother, Dr. Mazin Dhafir, are willing to post property worth at least $1 million, Menkin said. Dhafir has been in jail since his Feb. 26 arrest. The 91 people who either signed the petition for Dhafir's release or offered property or cash are mostly from the local Muslim community, Menkin said. Dhafir is a naturalized American who was born in Iraq.

"I think the point is the Muslim community here is still very solidly behind him," Menkin said.

IRAQI UNIFORM IN DOCTOR'S HOME, COURT PAPERS SAY; DR. RAFIL DHAFIR'S LAWYER ASKS JUDGE TO STEP DOWN, CITING SON'S MILITARY SERVICE. June 20, 2003 pB3; Byline: John O'Brien Staff writer

Federal investigators found an Iraqi military uniform in the Manlius home of Dr. Rafil Dhafir after they arrested him four months ago on charges of illegally sending money to Iraq, unsealed court documents revealed this week.

The agents found the uniform when they searched Dhafir's home two weeks after his Feb. 26 arrest, according to court records. His lawyer, Edward Z. Menkin, cited the discovery in court papers unsealed this week in which he asked U.S. District Judge Norman Mordue to step down from the case.

Mordue's son is in Afghanistan serving as an assistant staff judge advocate with an Army reserve unit that's helping to rebuild the war-torn country. Menkin said that could raise the appearance that Mordue might be biased against Dhafir.

Prosecutors have been asking witnesses whether Dhafir "surreptitiously traveled to Afghanistan," whether he was a longtime mole for Iraqi intelligence, whether he met with a high-ranking al-Qaida official, and whether he'd used the code word "tourism" for terrorism in e-mails, Menkin wrote.

Menkin said he learned of those lines of inquiry from prosecutors and from Ayman Jarwan, who was questioned by investigators after he pleaded guilty in April. Menkin described the allegations as rumors and said they were completely untrue.

"But they exist in sufficient reality for the government for it to continue to investigate and posit these assertions in questioning the many people who have known Dr. Dhafir," Menkin wrote.

Dhafir's wife says she lied, She admits making false statement to Medicare investigators in billing probe.July 02, 2003; By John O'Brien Staff writer

MANLIUS DOCTOR CHARGED WITH FRAUD. July 3, 2003 pB1: Byline: John O'Brien Staff writer

A doctor accused of illegally sending money to Iraq was charged Wednesday with defrauding Medicare of more than $274,000 by billing for chemotherapy treatments when he wasn't in the office.

CPA HELPED CHARITY FOOL IRS; ACCOUNTANT ADMITS AIDING HELP THE NEEDY IN EFFORT TO FILE FALSE TAX FORM. July 4, 2003 pB3; Byline: John O'Brien Staff writer

An accountant for a Manlius oncologist accused of illegally using a charity to send money to Iraq admitted Thursday he helped the doctor dodge Internal Revenue Service scrutiny.

G. William Hatfield, 56, pleaded guilty in federal court to helping Dr. Rafil Dhafir file a false tax form with the IRS last year saying Dhafir's charity had no predecessor.

The DeWitt-based charity, Help the Needy Endowment Inc., was the successor to Help the Needy. If that relationship had been revealed to the IRS, the tax agency might have discovered Dhafir had falsely claimed more than $1 million in tax deductions over the years, Hatfield's written plea agreement said.

MANLIUS PHYSICIAN LOSES RULING; JUDGE REFUSES TO DISMISS CHARGES AGAINST DOCTOR WHO FOUNDED HELP THE NEEDY. July 8, 2003 pB3 ; Byline: John O'Brien Staff writer; Staff writer Renee K. Gadoua contributed to this report.

A federal judge has denied a defense request to dismiss charges against a Manlius oncologist accused of sending money to Iraq in violation of a U.S. embargo.

U.S. District Judge Norman Mordue last week rejected Dr. Rafil Dhafir's argument that prosecutors were violating Dhafir's right to religious freedom.

A CHANGE IN LAWYER; DOCTOR IN CHARITY CASE TAKES NYC COUNSEL. July 18, 2003 pB3; Byline: Jim O'Hara Staff writer

A Manlius doctor accused of illegally sending money to Iraq has dropped his local lawyer and will be represented instead by a former homicide prosecutor from New York City.

Syracuse lawyer Edward Z. Menkin said Thursday he is no longer representing Dr. Rafil Dhafir. Menkin said he has been replaced on the case by Deveraux Cannick, from the firm of Aiello & Cannick in Maspeth, Queens.

Iraqi officer list is reported foundBook in charity founder's home contained this, other information, documents say.October 06, 2003; By John O'Brien, Staff writer