By James A. Kimble
jkimble@eagletribune.com
November 17, 2008 12:48 am CONCORD — A former Windham pizza shop owner claims the $19,300 in cash he had tucked into his waistband while trying to board a plane at the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport was purely legitimate. But federal agents believe the money being carried by George Atalla Habib was likely drug proceeds, according to a federal complaint. Prosecutors are now trying to seize the money as a drug forfeiture in U.S. District Court. Habib, formerly of Salem, was stopped April 3 during a checkpoint by the Transportation Security Administration. TSA officials say Habib was smuggling the cash in his waistband, but didn't know how much money he had on him. He initially told authorities he had between $10,000 and $15,000 on him. "The bundles were wrapped in rubber bands and brown paper money wrappers," the complaint says. "The name 'George' was printed in blue ink on one of the wrappers." Since then, Habib has given authorities several conflicting stories on where the money came from, according to prosecutors. His latest explanation — in an affidavit filed Nov. 7 — is that he sold his pizza shop and a condominium in 2004 before moving to California. But the cash, he said, remained in a safe deposit box for four years. "I did not close the box or the account because I did not know whether I would be moving back to New Hampshire or not," Habib wrote in a federal affidavit. Habib said he was in a hurry when he was stopped because his flight landed at 10:30 a.m. and departed at 2 p.m. "I was in a hurry because I had to rent a car, get to the bank, withdraw the money and get back to the airport for my flight home," he wrote. "The money was not at all drug related. I was carry (sic) the money as cash because I did not have time to deposit it or wire it before I had to leave to catch my return flight." Habib says he has the car rental receipt and the paperwork from the sale of the condo and his business to prove his case. The decision will ultimately be left up to U.S. Magistrate James Muirhead, who is scheduled to meet next month with lawyers handling the matter. Muirhead has already denied a request by prosecutors to make a judgment in their favor, which could lead to a trial. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Rabuck wrote in court papers that a drug-sniffing dog checked out the money on April 9 and indicated the cash had "the presence of controlled substances." Prosecutors have not elaborated on exactly what kind of drugs they believe the dog detected. Rabuck wrote Habib struggled to come up with a solid explanation about the cash when first questioned by Londonderry police and TSA officials. Habib said he sold two cars he had in New Hampshire for $8,000, yet struggled to sell his condominium for 18 months. Then, he claimed he sold $3,000 worth of furniture to a friend for $7,000 who was also interested in buying his condominium, the complaint says. "Agents asked why his friend would pay too much for used furniture in an effort to assist him in purchasing a condo that the owner couldn't sell for 18 months," Rabuck wrote. "Habib did not respond to the question." Habib was never charged with any drug offense, and he was freed without his money. He started calling Drug Enforcement Administration agents that same day, apologizing that he lied. He said the money came from a safety deposit box. "He also stated he had secreted the money in his waistband because he was scared," Rabuck wrote. "Habib said that he had not wire transferred the money because he did not want to fill out a Currency Transaction Report."
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