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FDLE says it won't apologize to man queried in Bush plot
©Associated Press WEST PALM BEACH -- A convenience store owner questioned in an alleged plot to kill Gov. Jeb Bush wants authorities to apologize, but a Florida Department of Law Enforcement spokesman said Sunday that's unlikely. Amjad Hammad, a 28-year-old Palestinian, was questioned by the FBI and the FDLE on Friday as authorities investigated a Broward County inmate's tip that Hammad and three other men were plotting to kill the governor, who is the president's brother. Tim Moore, head of the FDLE, has said there is no reason to believe the inmate's tip was legitimate. Hammad, a married father of two who moved to the United States when he was 7, owns nine convenience stores in South Florida. He spent five hours with investigators and says he passed three polygraph tests. "They were very satisfied with my answers. They treated me professionally like gentlemen," Hammad said. "For the safety of the country, I was willing to do it." But now he wants an apology, saying he wants to restore the reputation he built with cousin Moaid Nasser, co-owner of the convenience stores, and another named suspect. "Neighbors are looking at me, like, 'What's going on over here?' " he said. "I know they (authorities) are doing their job, but still they should make a statement that these guys cooperated, and everything was good. "At least something from Jeb Bush saying the same thing," he said. "I have a lot of businesses and need to set the record straight." But FDLE spokesman Al Dennis said authorities have nothing to apologize for. He said authorities never intended to release the names of Hammad and the others, but the media learned them. "We thank them for their cooperation, but we had an investigation to pursue and we've done that," Dennis said.
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From the Times state desk
From the state wire
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