Greater Austin Crime Commission
Public safety is a community concern
February 23, 2012
Round Rock Man Plotted to Kill Saudi Ambassador
One of the men charged in a plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States has close ties to Texas and intended to use a Mexican gang to carry out the execution.
Manssor Arbabsiar, who authorities say admitted his role in a $1.5 million plot to kill the ambassador at a Washington D.C. restaurant by setting off explosives, owns a home in Round Rock and has lived in Texas for decades, the Austin American-Statesman reported.
Before moving to the Austin-area, Arbabsiar attended college at the now–Texas A&M University-Kingsville and had several businesses in Corpus Christi including restaurant, a convenience store and a used car lot, according to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.
Since the U.S. Department of Justice named the Iranian-born 56-year-old U.S. citizen a perpetrator in the alleged terrorist plot Tuesday, there has been much speculation as to how a man who many have described as being anything-but a mastermind could be at the center of an international conspiracy.
In recent days, former business associates of Arbabsiar have reportedly described him as being absentminded and unorganized. An old friend said he was a “joke,” who drank, smoked marijuana and paid prostitutes to have sex. Round Rock neighbors described him as unfriendly, and restaurant owners are said to have thrown Arbabsiar out for being rude, according to the Statesman.
But information released by authorities suggests factions of the Iranian government – perhaps the Quds force, which the American government designates as a terrorist organization – directed Arbabsiar to carry out a plot to execute Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi ambassador.
The connections between Arbabsiar and Iran are convoluted and the motives are still unclear. However, a fact links Arbabsiar to the crime hits close to home: after receiving his orders from the still-at-large Gholam Shakuri, Arbabsiar flew to Mexico and hired Mexican drug-trafficking cartel to perform the execution.
Reportedly, the Mexican gang member Arbabsiar contacted is an informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration. The informant, guided by DEA agents, strung Arbabsiar along, to the point of receiving a $100,000 down-payment from Iran towards the $1.5 million he said he intended to charge for killing the ambassador, according to the Economist.
It is speculated that the announcement of the alleged plot and Arbabsiar’s arrest will further complicate U.S.-Iranian relations. The Iranian government denies any connection to the terrorist plot.
For more on Arbabsiar’s Texas-ties visit:
Manssor Arbabsiar, who authorities say admitted his role in a $1.5 million plot to kill the ambassador at a Washington D.C. restaurant by setting off explosives, owns a home in Round Rock and has lived in Texas for decades, the Austin American-Statesman reported.
Before moving to the Austin-area, Arbabsiar attended college at the now–Texas A&M University-Kingsville and had several businesses in Corpus Christi including restaurant, a convenience store and a used car lot, according to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.
Since the U.S. Department of Justice named the Iranian-born 56-year-old U.S. citizen a perpetrator in the alleged terrorist plot Tuesday, there has been much speculation as to how a man who many have described as being anything-but a mastermind could be at the center of an international conspiracy.
In recent days, former business associates of Arbabsiar have reportedly described him as being absentminded and unorganized. An old friend said he was a “joke,” who drank, smoked marijuana and paid prostitutes to have sex. Round Rock neighbors described him as unfriendly, and restaurant owners are said to have thrown Arbabsiar out for being rude, according to the Statesman.
But information released by authorities suggests factions of the Iranian government – perhaps the Quds force, which the American government designates as a terrorist organization – directed Arbabsiar to carry out a plot to execute Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi ambassador.
The connections between Arbabsiar and Iran are convoluted and the motives are still unclear. However, a fact links Arbabsiar to the crime hits close to home: after receiving his orders from the still-at-large Gholam Shakuri, Arbabsiar flew to Mexico and hired Mexican drug-trafficking cartel to perform the execution.
Reportedly, the Mexican gang member Arbabsiar contacted is an informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration. The informant, guided by DEA agents, strung Arbabsiar along, to the point of receiving a $100,000 down-payment from Iran towards the $1.5 million he said he intended to charge for killing the ambassador, according to the Economist.
It is speculated that the announcement of the alleged plot and Arbabsiar’s arrest will further complicate U.S.-Iranian relations. The Iranian government denies any connection to the terrorist plot.
For more on Arbabsiar’s Texas-ties visit:
October 14, 2011
News
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A sharp increase of pedestrian-related fatalities this year has led police to ramp-up enforcement to keep Austinites safe -- even if it's just a matter of crossing the street.
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