Man who said he heard call by terrorists passes lie test

Tuesday, July 30, 2002 | 11:01 a.m.

Results of an independent lie detector test taken by Michael Hamdan, the man who said he intercepted a terrorist threat to Las Vegas on his cell phone, indicate he was telling the truth, he said.

The alleged threat on June 15 focused on the July Fourth holiday in Las Vegas. Hamdan said he overheard a conversation in Arabic in which the speakers were discussing an unspecified terrorist act in Las Vegas.

"We are going to hit them on the day of freedom," one of the voices said, according to Hamdan.

The FBI met with Hamdan three times and conducted a polygraph test.

"On June 21, 2002, the FBI publicly stated that Mr. Hamdan's information was not credible. This assessment was based on several factors, not just a polygraph," said Special Agent Daron Borst, a spokesman for the FBI's Las Vegas office. "Our assessment has not changed."

Hamdan is not currently facing any charges related to his statement and the investigation into his allegations is complete, Borst said.

Hamdan said his attorney, Steven Wolfson, referred him to Ed Gonzalez, a security consultant and a member of the Nevada board that licenses polygraphers.

Gonzalez performed a polygraph test on Hamdan July 22 at his Las Vegas office. He reported that the results revealed "no deception indicated to relevant test questions."

"I just want to prove I didn't lie," Hamdan said Monday.

In addition to asking Hamdan if he had lied to the FBI and whether he told the truth about hearing an Arabic conversation, Gonzalez asked Hamdan if he had gotten any sleep and whether he was taking medication at the time of the first test.

Hamdan said he didn't sleep for 72 hours after hearing the phone call and he had taken medication. These factors could have affected his performance on the FBI's test, Hamdan said.

Wolfson said he made the referral to protect Hamdan, as the FBI could charge him with making a false report about the phone call. The attorney said he spoke to the FBI about three weeks ago, but no mention was made of any charges.

Since the series of events, Hamdan said he hopes to return to a quiet life out of the public spotlight. He said he would do what he did again because he has a 10-year-old son.

"I did my duty as an American," he said.

In addition, Hamdan said he got an apology from Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, who earlier suggested Hamdan was lucky he wasn't "whacked" for scaring Las Vegas tourists before an extended holiday.

The mayor called Hamdan at 12:30 p.m. Sunday and left a message saying he wanted to thank Hamdan for expressing his good wishes after Goodman and his wife, Caroline, were injured in a July 21 car accident.

Hamdan said the mayor "very gracefully" apologized.

A city spokeswoman said this morning that the mayor called Hamdan in response to his well wishes but did not apologize.

Sun reporters Keith Paul and Diana Sahagun contributed to this story.