Tampabay: Search in alleged plot goes on

Federal agents on Monday combed the office, townhome and storage unit of Robert Jay Goldstein, the Seminole podiatrist accused of plotting to destroy 50 Islamic centers in the Tampa Bay area and Florida.

The agents were looking for any evidence or reference to possible accomplices in the alleged plot.

While agents searched, Gov. Jeb Bush canceled a planned trip to Miami and reassured Muslim leaders the state will assess the security at mosques and Islamic schools.

Bush also met with Florida Department of Law Enforcement Director James T. "Tim" Moore, who said Monday that his department had yet to find evidence of any accomplices.

"There is no credible information to indicate anyone else was involved," said Moore, whose agency is assisting the FBI and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in the investigation.

Goldstein, 37, will appear today in U.S. District Court in Tampa for a hearing on federal charges of illegally possessing 20 bombs and plotting to damage or destroy Islamic centers and mosques in Florida.

His attorney, Myles Malman, would not discuss the criminal charges Monday but said he has concerns about Goldstein's competency, which will be discussed during the hearing.

Before his arrest Friday, Goldstein had been taking five medications, some of which are "very serious anti-depressants," Malman said.

Now that he's in jail, "he is not getting the medications he is required to have," said Malman, who, as a federal attorney in Miami prosecuted Manuel Noriega.

Agents who searched Goldstein's office and home declined to comment Monday. FBI agents wearing shirts that said "FBI Evidence Response Team" took photographs and searched the townhome.

Goldstein's wife of four years, Kristi Goldstein, 28, was at their unit at Townhomes of Lake Seminole on Monday afternoon. She threw out trash and loaded belongings into her Ford SUV, which has a University of Florida license tag and a Smith & Wesson sticker on the back windshield.

"No comment," she said as she led her Dalmatian to the passenger seat and told it to sit. Music blared from the radio as she sped away.

Evidence seized from Goldstein's townhome last week made reference to a "dry run" of an attack on an Islamic education center, with a "Val" or "Mike."

No one else has been arrested, and federal officials will not say whether they are interviewing anyone else.

While federal authorities built their case, Bush reassured the Muslim community.

He returned to Tallahassee from Sun City Center on Monday afternoon and canceled a planned trip to Miami because of concerns about Goldstein, whom Bush referred to as "this crazy guy."

Bush met with FDLE Commissioner Moore, the state's chief security official. He also held a telephone conference call with Muslim leaders, telling them officers with the state's regional anti-terrorism task forces will visit each mosque and Islamic school in the state by the end of today.

"I understand how people would be concerned to be targeted," Bush said. "There is no place in our state for religious persecution, or playing out Middle East issues. Let's be clear about this. If people are organizing to attack religious institutions, whether they're a mosque or a synagogue or a church, that is not to be tolerated in our state."

Altaf Ali, executive director of the Florida chapter of the Council on Islamic-American Relations, and other members of the state's Muslim community have expressed concerns for their safety.

Ali said he feared that the widening federal investigation may indicate that Goldstein is part of a conspiracy targeting the Muslim community.

"The magnitude of his planning definitely involves some other kind of people," Ali said. "It's very meticulous and very well thought out."

-- Times staff writers Steve Bousquet, Jay Cridlin and Lucy Morgan contributed to this report, which includes information from the Associated Press. Leanora Minai can be reached at minai@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8406.

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