Can you say "infiltrate?" Can you say "spy?" Can you say, "double-crossed?" I knew you could! I wonder what horrific act would have occured by now if Berg was not apprehended by the Iraqis.

Friday, May 14, 2004
Berg Had Koran, 'Anti-Semitic' Book

Nick Berg had a bit of a strange run the last few years, starting with the "coincidental" usage of his e-mail account by the alleged 20th 9/11 hijacker and ending with his beheading at the hands of terrorists in Iraq.

He is described by various news agencies as a techno genius, a dreamer, a wanderer, a funnyman and the ultimate Curious George.

Today, Philly.com revealed another item about Berg: "Berg's stubborn wanderlust made him a target of suspicion - a religious Jew riding around Mosul in a taxi with a copy of the Koran. ... Some U.S. soldiers even wondered if the patriotic Berg was 'a wannabe freedom fighter.'"

So, what was he doing in Iraq? A friend told Fox News he thought Berg was "sailing in Turkey." (Sure ... if we were to go sailing, that's the place we'd choose as well.)

When Berg was arrested in Mosul, he had two items with him that made authorities nervous: a copy of the Koran and another book reportedly entitled either "The Jewish Problem" or "The Jewish Solution." Why a Jew would be carrying these items is unclear, but Berg supporters say it was like him to be curious about such things.

(And if one were staging a "terrorist act" these would be necessary props to plant on the scene. That's okay, NewsMax, I don't expect you to appreciate logical conclusions.)

Berg also refused to leave Iraq when asked to do so by the State Department.

He not only apparently felt the need to help rebuild Iraq, but he also wanted to go into business doing so. He told jailers that he was losing thousands of dollars while being detained.

He had worked in Africa (Uganda) and had a relative living in Mosul, so that's where he went in Iraq. He was arrested only because he was an unaccompanied American in a place where that was highly unusual.

A military source in Iraq told the Philadelphia Daily News, "He was jailed because unescorted Americans aren't usually seen downtown and 'they didn't know what to do with him.'

"Police were suspicious because of 'his demeanor'" and the two books he carried.

Berg was, according to the paper, "under Iraqi control ... the FBI also questioned Berg three times and visited his parents back in West Chester."

Authorities tried to tell Berg to go home and offered to pay for everything, but he told them: "You don't understand these people like I do. You're here for a reason - and so am I."

On April 6, Berg was released from jail, and three days later he disappeared.


If you own a business, you know that the paperwork requirements by the government are never-ending. But the Berg business seems to have avoided that. Nor does it seem to have a web site. Nor does it seem to advertise. Bear in mind that the Israeli Spy Ring was blown open by the revelation that Israeli agents were infiltrating US telecoms companies and using them to spy on police and citizens.

State has no records of Berg's firm



R. JONATHAN TULEYA , Staff Writer 05/14/2004



Prometheus Methods Tower Services Inc., the business that cost Nick Berg his life in Iraq, has no records with the Pennsylvania Department of State.

The company that specialized in building communications towers never registered with the Pennsylvania Corporation Bureau, said Brian McDonald, spokesman for the state department.


McDonald conducted a search of the bureau’s online list of registered businesses, but found no matches.

The same search done by a Daily Local News reporter produced the same results -- several businesses contained the word "Prometheus" in their names. Only one is located in West Chester, and it is not related to Berg’s business.

Companies are not legally required to register with the state, but McDonald explained it is usually the first step an owner takes.

"You’d be very foolish not to register your business with the department," he said. "It is nearly impossible to exist without doing it."

Registering allows an owner to set up his business’s tax structure. It also establishes how the business is run, for example, whether or not it is for-profit or nonprofit.

"It is basically the infrastructure by which businesses are set up in the commonwealth," McDonald said.

McDonald added it is possible the business could be listed in the bureau’s records under a different name.

Searching the statewide yellow pages online found two company names containing the word "Prometheus" in Philadelphia. One is an Internet consulting business.

An employee at the second one, which is called Prometheus Radio Project, said it was not affiliated with the business owned by the local man slain in Iraq by members of al-Qaida.

Officials at the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue and the Internal Revenue Service said state and federal laws prohibited their agencies from providing any records they had of Prometheus Methods Tower Services -- even whether the company had ever filed a return.

"Any information that we get or is contained on a tax return I can’t release," said Steve Kniley, press secretary for the state revenue department. "It is considered confidential under tax law."

Tax records become public information only if a lien is filed against a business. According to Kniley, there are no liens against Berg’s company.

Bill Cressman, spokesman at the IRS’s Philadelphia office, said the only companies with public tax records are nonprofit corporations.

At least one person claims he can confirm Prometheus’ existence.

Jay Shur, who works at the radio station WCHE 1520 AM in West Chester, said on Wednesday he was in the process of hiring Berg to build a communications tower for the station when news of his death came out.

The station was awaiting approval of plans from both the borough and an environmental agency before construction could begin, according to Shur.

"There’s a lot of paperwork to go through, and the area we were looking at was a marsh- land so we had to get clearance," he said."When I do get the OK, I’ll have to look for another contractor."

Michael Berg briefly spoke about Prometheus during a press conference Thursday morning outside his home.

"My son was not over there to make money," Michael Berg said. "My son’s business, which was very profitable before he went to Iraq ..I will make good on anything the company owes anybody, but it’s pretty much going to be defunct."

It is unclear how many employees Prometheus had. Michael Berg spoke of a "foreman" during the press conference. However, Nick Berg traveled to Iraq alone.

Staff Writer Jill Nawrocki contributed to this article.


The FBI questioned Berg while he was a student in Oklahoma, the FBI reported Friday.
(AP Photo/Courtesy of Dale Gehman)



FBI investigated man's contacts in Oklahoma
By AP Wire Service
5/14/2004 9:24:00 AM


OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Nicholas Berg, the American businessman who was beheaded in Iraq, had been questioned by the FBI more than a year ago about a contact he had with a terrorism suspect in 1999, while he was a student at the University of Oklahoma for a semester, his family said.

A senior law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the terror suspect appears to have been acquainted with Zacarias Moussaoui, an al-Qaida adherent now in federal custody and awaiting trial on conspiracy charges stemming from the Sept. 11 attacks.

Moussaoui attended a flight school in Norman in early 2001.

The official said an e-mail address traced to Berg had been used by the unidentified individual with purported terror connections, but a 2002 investigation showed Berg had never met the individual and had not given the e-mail address to that person.

Michael Berg told reporters Thursday that his son was cleared of any wrongdoing.


Okay, let's recap. Nick had contacts with "terrorists" in the US. His family business seems devoid of a paper trail. Nick goes to Israel, then shows up in Iraq carrying a Koran and "anti-Semitic" literature, and is seen "working" on a radio tower in Abu Graib even though his company is not on the list of apporved Iraq contractors. You don't have to be Fellini to figure this one out!

Family claims U.S. held son in Iraq
Consular e-mail tells of military jailers

Berg linked passport stamp to arrest


SCHEHEREZADE FARAMARZI
ASSOCIATED PRESS

BAGHDAD—An American who was beheaded in Iraq had told friends he was arrested by Iraqi police in Mosul because he had an Israeli stamp in his passport.

But a police chief yesterday said Nicholas Berg, 26, had never been arrested by Iraqi authorities in Mosul, and the man's family disclosed e-mails it said proved he had been in U.S. custody despite U.S. denials.

Berg's headless body was found Saturday in Baghdad. Three days later, a videotape posted on an Al Qaeda-related Web site showed him decapitated by hooded, armed men.

U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was the person shown beheading Berg, based on an analysis of the voice on the video, a CIA official said.

U.S. officials said Wednesday that Iraqi police arrested Berg in Mosul on March 24 because they believed he may have been involved in "suspicious activities." U.S. spokesperson Dan Senor insisted that Berg was held by Iraqi — not American — authorities. He said the FBI visited Berg three times before he was released April 6.

Yesterday, however, Berg's family showed the Associated Press an e-mail from a U.S. consular official in Iraq, dated April 1, that said he was being detained by the U.S. military.

"I have confirmed that your son, Nick, is being detained by the U.S. military in Mosul," wrote Beth A. Payne, the U.S. consular officer. "He is safe. He was picked up approximately one week ago ...."

In Mosul, police chief Maj.-Gen. Mohammed Khair al-Barhawi insisted his department never arrested Berg and said he had no knowledge of the case.

Berg's family said he was transferred to American custody soon after his arrest.

Berg wrote to his parents after his release that federal agents had questioned him about whether he had ever built a pipe bomb or had been in Iran.

After his release, Berg travelled to Baghdad and checked into the Fanar Hotel. An acquaintance quoted Berg as saying he had been arrested by Iraqi police in Mosul because he had an Israeli entry stamp in his passport.

Most Arab countries bar foreigners from entering their territory if their passports contain Israeli entry stamps.

Berg last contacted his parents April 9 and checked out of the Fanar Hotel the next day. U.S. officials said they offered him a flight to Jordan, but he refused.

American businessman Andrew Robert Duke met Berg April 9 and said he "spoke about going to Turkey ... and then home."