Columnist Jeff German: Better to be aware in war on terrorism

Friday, Oct. 19, 2001 | 4:21 a.m.

Still, terrorism and security experts at the national level continue to warn that the threat of an attack in Las Vegas is very possible.

One local businessman Joseph Teti, a 36-year-old former special forces veteran, has thrust himself into the debate.

Teti, who runs International Security Consultants, a company that specializes in counterterrorism, is one of many self-proclaimed experts coming out of the woodwork in this new age of terror.

He has much to say, but when given a chance, he makes it difficult to prove his credentials as a terrorism expert.

Teti believes that Las Vegas, because of its high international profile, is indeed a terrorist target.

"It represents everything that the terrorist mind hates about America," Teti says. "Excess, decadence and capitalism -- it's all here."

He suggests that the five suspected hijackers who visited Las Vegas prior to the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington may have had associates here.

"Common sense should tell you that terrorists will not travel into a (hostile) environment without some kind of support structure in place -- people who are sympathetic to their cause," he says.

Since the Sept. 11 attacks, Teti has been promoting the concept of prevention as the best way to defend this city against terrorism. He has been pitching his "tactical defense plan" to local lawmen and casino security chiefs and conducting Individual Terrorism Awareness Training (INTAT) seminars.

For Teti, educating the public, which he does for the right price, is the key to his protection plan. "People have to become aware of what's around them," he says.

Law enforcement authorities, who've been besieged with so-called experts looking to make a quick buck off of the fear gripping the nation, haven't totally bought into his ideas.

And though he seems knowledgeable about terrorism, Teti appears to go out of his way to maintain an air of mystery about himself.

For what he calls security reasons, Teti won't divulge his clients or let people see his office. His company has a telephone number, but it's not listed in the phone book. Teti even has blacked out portions of the certificates he received from his special forces training that would back up his claims of expertise in fighting terrorism.

Recently Teti met with Metro Police officers on the front lines of the terrorism war to explain the services. Some were impressed with him. Some weren't.

"He seems to possess the credentials," says one intelligence detective. "He definitely speaks with an experienced background."

But others have heard his story before.

Tim Donovan, president of the Las Vegas Security Chiefs Association, also has been briefed by Teti. "We're taking a look at his stuff," Donovan says with a hint of skepticism in his voice.

Donovan says he's been listening to other terrorism consultants, as well, in an effort to make sure security officers on the Strip are better trained to spot suspicious activity.

Las Vegas FBI spokesman Daron Borst has never met Teti. But he's wary of what he has to offer.

"Many people are getting wealthy off of this," Borst says. "We want people to use discretion in what they buy into."

Borst insists there's no reliable word of a terrorist threat in Las Vegas, but that authorities are well-prepared to handle one if it occurs.

He also believes that Americans don't need additional training to stay alert.

"Anything more is going to be counter-productive at this point," he says. "We don't want to create panic and an environment where we would make ourselves more of a target than we could be."

True. But we also want to make sure we use every resource possible, maybe even the "expertise" of someone like Teti, in this war.