Friday, June 21, 2002 | 11:27 a.m.
The FBI is investigating a Henderson man's claims that he accidentally intercepted a cell phone conversation between two men discussing a plot to allegedly "hit" Las Vegas "on the day of freedom."
Michael Hamdan, 54, a retired businessman, says his cell phone intercepted a call between two Arabic-speaking men Saturday afternoon when he tried calling his wife as he crossed the Strip on Sahara Avenue.
Hamdan, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Lebanon, speaks Arabic and says he heard one man say:
"We are here in the city of corruption, the city of prostitutes and gamblers -- the unbelievers. They talk about freedom. We are going to hit them on the day of freedom."
On the other end, a man was affirming what he heard, as if he were taking instruction, Hamdan said. Shortly thereafter, he could hear a man in the background telling the other man to be quiet, as if to say he had said too much. The entire call lasted between 60 and 90 seconds, Hamdan said.
Hamdan was scheduled to take a polygraph test at the FBI this morning, a law enforcement source said. Hamdan, who spent the morning making appearances on television news programs, said he would do so after a mid-morning nap.
FBI spokesman Daron Borst of the Las Vegas field office said investigators were taking the reported threat against Las Vegas on the Fourth of July, a busy holiday, very seriously.
"We're conducting a full investigation to determine whether this is a credible threat and if so what the nature of that threat may be," Borst said. "It's too early in the investigation to make that determination now, but as soon as that information becomes available, we will pass it on to the public."
Hamdan has been interviewed by FBI agents several times this week.
FBI officials have no timetable for making a public announcement about the credibility of the threat, Borst said.
Investigators say five of the terrorists who hijacked planes on Sept. 11 passed through Las Vegas last summer. One of the hijackers, Mohamed Atta, frequently visited an Internet cafe in town.
Hamdan, who said the FBI had been taking his concerns seriously, said agents are working with his cell phone provider, AT&T Wireless, to determine the source of the crossed phone call.
AT&T Wireless officials refused to speculate on what may have caused the signals to cross but said "cross talk," such as what Hamdan described, doesn't happen often, but does happen.
Hamdan carries a Siemens cell phone that is equipped to be used either overseas or in the United States.
From their accents and tone, Hamdan said he could tell the men were not from Syria or Lebanon.
"The words being used were not common. They were highly chosen," he said. "You can tell the people using them were fanatics."
After hearing the phone conversation, Hamdan said he went home and tried to absorb what he had heard.
"I was in a state of disbelief," he said. "It really blew my mind.
"I couldn't eat. I was really pale. My wife took one look at me and knew something was wrong."
Hamdan, a naturalized citizen who has lived in the United States since 1976, struggled with calling the authorities because he was worried about his family's safety.
"Of course I'm concerned (with my family), but what I heard in the conversation was obvious they meant Las Vegas," he said. "I felt with all those clues, I couldn't possibly sleep on the information."
After wrestling with the decision, Hamdan contacted the FBI shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday morning, finally speaking to an agent at approximately noon that day. Shortly thereafter, he contacted local media and appeared on local television newscasts.
He said he talked to the media because "I want them to know we know about them."
Hamdan has lived in the Las Vegas area since 1996 and is president and owner of Hamdan International, an international marketing firm. He has lived in the United States since 1976 and received his U.S. citizenship in 1987.
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