FBI jails ex-Intel worker
By Matthew Yi for the SF Chronicle.

Hawash was picked up by FBI agents at about 7 a.m. on March 20 as he arrived at the parking lot for his job at Intel's Hawthorne Farms office in Hillsboro, Ore., said Steven McGeady, Hawash's former boss and friend, in a telephone interview with The Chronicle on Tuesday.

At about the same time, armed federal agents wearing bullet-proof vests stormed into Hawash's home and seized his computers and files, said McGeady, who spoke with Lisa Hawash about the incident.

Hawash's wife and their three young children were asleep when authorities arrived at their home, McGeady said.

"Lisa wasn't taken into custody, but they seized all their computers, files and left her with a grand jury subpoena," he said.

Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy said FBI agents also have searched Hawash's cubicle and computer system at work.

Although Lisa Hawash has been able to visit her husband a couple of times a week, neither of them has been told by authorities why he is being detained, McGeady said...

Hawash, born in the West Bank city of Nablus, grew up in Kuwait, McGeady said. He arrived in the United States in 1984 to attend the University of Texas at Arlington, where he earned both bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering.

Hawash became a U.S. citizen in 1988, a year before he graduated and landed his first job at Compaq Computers in Houston. He was soon transferred to Seattle.

In 1992, he was hired to work at Intel's Multimedia Software Technology Group, said McGeady, who was Hawash's boss at the time.

Hawash was laid off in 2001 but has since been working at Intel as a contract software engineer, he said.

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FBI jails ex-Intel worker

Matthew Yi, Chronicle Staff Writer Wednesday, April 2, 2003

A contract worker for Intel Corp. is being held in a federal prison in Oregon as part of an investigation by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Maher Mofeid Hawash, 38, on Tuesday remained in federal prison in Sheridan, Ore., as a material witness, said Sheila Meyer, investigative research specialist for the U.S. marshal's office in Portland.

FBI spokeswoman Beth Anne Steele in Portland declined to comment on the case.

Telephone messages left at the U.S. attorney's office in Portland as well as with lawyers representing Hawash and his wife, Lisa Hawash, were not returned Tuesday.

Hawash was picked up by FBI agents at about 7 a.m. on March 20 as he arrived at the parking lot for his job at Intel's Hawthorne Farms office in Hillsboro, Ore., said Steven McGeady, Hawash's former boss and friend, in a telephone interview with The Chronicle on Tuesday.

At about the same time, armed federal agents wearing bullet-proof vests stormed into Hawash's home and seized his computers and files, said McGeady, who spoke with Lisa Hawash about the incident.

Hawash's wife and their three young children were asleep when authorities arrived at their home, McGeady said.

"Lisa wasn't taken into custody, but they seized all their computers, files and left her with a grand jury subpoena," he said.

Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy said FBI agents also have searched Hawash's cubicle and computer system at work.

Although Lisa Hawash has been able to visit her husband a couple of times a week, neither of them has been told by authorities why he is being detained, McGeady said.

The only thing the couple can think of is a pair of donations that Hawash made in 2000 to Global Relief Foundation, he said. The Illinois Islamic charity came under FBI scrutiny after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11. In December 2001, the Treasury Department froze the foundation's bank accounts and confiscated its computers.

"This is really complete speculation on our part . . . but we can't think of any other reason," McGeady said.

He said he isn't sure exactly how much was donated, but the Oregonian newspaper recently reported that Hawash made donations of $5,165 and $5,050, citing the foundation's federal tax return for 2000.

"They made (the donations), but they thought it was a legitimate organization," McGeady said.

Hawash, born in the West Bank city of Nablus, grew up in Kuwait, McGeady said. He arrived in the United States in 1984 to attend the University of Texas at Arlington, where he earned both bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering.

Hawash became a U.S. citizen in 1988, a year before he graduated and landed his first job at Compaq Computers in Houston. He was soon transferred to Seattle.

In 1992, he was hired to work at Intel's Multimedia Software Technology Group, said McGeady, who was Hawash's boss at the time.

Hawash was laid off in 2001 but has since been working at Intel as a contract software engineer, he said.

McGeady is spearheading efforts to free Hawash and has set up a Web site (www.freemikehawash.org) encouraging people to write letters to senators and representatives.

"We're also raising money to help pay for their legal expenses," McGeady said. "We're trying to provide (Lisa Hawash) with some support. One of the hardest things is the fact that she doesn't know if there is anything she can do."

E-mail Matthew Yi at myi@sfchronicle.com.