An Islamic charity director accused by federal prosecutors of having links to Osama bin Laden's terrorist network was resentenced Friday to 10 years in prison - about a year less than his original sentence.
Enaam Arnaout, 42, pleaded guilty to racketeering in 2003, admitting he defrauded donors to his Benevolence International Foundation by diverting some of the money to Islamic military groups in Bosnia and Chechnya.
The sentence was slightly reduced because an appeals court found the number of donors defrauded to be fewer than originally charged.
UPDATE: His charity bought combat boots in Bosnia, but he pled for a reduced sentence, didn't "want my kids to grow up orphans". Supposedly the charity supported widows and orphans in Islamic countries (perhaps they were families of suicide bombers):
In arguing for a tougher sentence, U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald reminded Conlon of evidence allegedly linking Arnaout with bin Laden. He said camps maintained by the foundation in Sudan "were al-Qaida camps." He pointed to Mamdouh Salim, known as bin Laden's former finance chief, on papers saying he was a foundation director.
Arnaout has said he has met bin Laden but opposes terrorism. His attorneys have said the two men met in the 1980s, when bin Laden was part of the U.S.-supported struggle of Afghan fighters to expel the Soviet army.Arnaout has been in federal custody since January 2002. He was arrested while trying to leave the country for Saudi Arabia for what he described as a family visit.
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