SEATTLE — Terrorist Ahmed Ressam’s journey from Port Angeles’ ferry landing to a federal courtroom ends with his sentencing today.
Since Ressam was arrested off the MV Coho ferry by Port Angeles customs inspectors with a car trunk loaded with bomb-making materials on Dec. 14, 1999, prosecutors and defense attorneys agree that he has proved an unparalleled resource in the nation’s efforts to understand and eradicate terrorists.
He told investigators from many countries about the locations of terror cells and camps, who ran them and how they operated.
But as Ressam, 37, awaits sentencing today, prosecutors say he could have done more.
Ressam, an Algerian convicted of plotting a millennium eve bombing at Los Angeles International Airport, stopped cooperating with prosecutors in 2003 when he realized the Justice Department wouldn’t recommend a sentence shorter than 27 years, the prosecutors say.
Without his continued help, prosecutors fear they will have to drop terrorism charges against two men: Abu Doha, who was accused of orchestrating the bomb plot, and Samir Ait Mohamed, also charged in the plot.
“We would not consider dropping such critical charges unless his cooperation was found to be severely lacking,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Bartlett.
The government is seeking 35 years. Ressam’s public defenders, who say his assistance has been unique in the war on terror, are recommending 12½ years.
