The Murder of Alex Odeh (Part 3/3)
By Richard Habib
Americans for Middle East Understanding (AMEU)
The Rubin and Krugel Connection
On Dec. 12, 2001, Irv Rubin, national chairman of the JDL, and Earl Krugel, the JDL’s West Coast coordinator, were arrested for plotting to blow up a Southern California mosque and an office belonging to Darrell Issa, a Republican member of Congress from California. The arrests, according to law enforcement authorities quoted in the L. A. Times of Dec. 13, 2001, “followed one of the most significant investigations by the Los Angeles Joint Terrorism Task Force in its 16-year history.”
Then on Oct. 10, 2002, the L.A. Times reported that Irv Rubin and other JDL members were subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury investigating the murder of Alex Odeh. But less than a month later, on Nov. 4, 2002, USA Today reported that Irv Rubin allegedly committed suicide while incarcerated by slashing “his neck with a prison-issued razor blade” and jumping or falling almost twenty feet over a railing to a concrete floor below at the Southern California detention facility where he was held. He died from the injuries on Nov. 13, 2002.
Sometime after his arrest with Irv Rubin, attorneys for Earl Krugel negotiated a plea reduction in Krugel’s sentence, from a mandatory 40 years to 20 years in exchange for his agreement to plead guilty to complicity with Rubin in the planned bombings of the Los Angeles mosque and congressman Issa’s office. As part of the agreement, according to a Nov. 6, 2005 Los Angeles Time article, Krugel was supposed to help law enforcement solve the murder of Alex Odeh.
The Jerusalem Post of June 15, 2004 reported that on the previous day, June 14, US District Judge Ronald S.W. Lew ordered a closed hearing to rule that Krugel had violated his plea agreement and thus was subject to the maximum prison sentence on the original bombing conspiracy charges.
While carrying out his sentence, Earl Kruger was killed at the Federal Correctional Institution in Phoenix, Arizona, three days after being transferred there. According to published reports, Krugel’s death took place on Nov. 4, 2005 after being attacked by a white supremacist who smashed a cinderblock five times into the back of his head.
Mr. Krugel’s death in prison occurred less than a month after the 20th anniversary of the unsolved murder of Alex Odeh!
Recent Updates
By 2013, 28 years after the murder of Alex Odeh and without tangible evidence that U.S. law enforcement was actively pursuing those responsible for Alex’s murder, activists began a campaign to publicize the absence of transparency as to the status of the case, including the failure to name, apprehend or indict anyone responsible for Alex’s death. At issue was and still is the posture of secrecy by the DOJ and FBI with respect to accountability as to how the case has been handled.
On June 11, 2013, Loretta Sanchez, the House Representative for the California district where the bombing that killed Alex took place, wrote a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder requesting an update.
On July 7, 2013 Rep. Sanchez received a reply to her letter from Peter Kadzik, Principal Deputy Assistant U.S. Attorney General stating that the Alex Odeh case “…is currently an open investigation and the FBI continues to work to identify any individual(s) associated with the bombing.” Mr. Kadzik also advised that the DOJ and FBI have “longstanding policies not to release information of an ongoing investigation…to protect the rights of all parties involved.”
On Oct. 17, 2013, in an interview with Amy Goodman of Democracy Now, Michigan Representative John Conyers, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, characterized the DOJ and FBI posture of secrecy in the Odeh case as follows: “The fact of the matter is that this is an embarrassment…it’s like they just put this [Alex Odeh case] into a closet and locked the door.”
On Nov. 6, 2013, U.S. Representatives Loretta Sanchez, John Conyers, Jim Moran and Eleanor Holmes-Norton co-authored a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder asking the following questions:
- Can you provide us the names of suspects associated with responsibility for the death of Alex Odeh?
- Do you know the whereabouts of any suspects associated with responsibility for the death of Alex Odeh? If so, where are they?
- Has the FBI interviewed all of the suspects associated with responsibility for the death of Alex Odeh? If not, why not?
- Is there or has there been any extradition process to bring all suspects who might be outside of the United States to the United States for prosecution or questioning with respect to responsibility for the death of Alex Odeh?
- Is there any suspect associated with the death of Alex Odeh that the Justice Department has not successfully interviewed? If so, why have those suspects not been interviewed?”
This writer is not aware of any response by U.S. Attorney General Holder to the letter by these members of Congress.
On June 30, 2014, Alex’s daughter Samya, who was a small child when her father was killed, sent a letter to President Obama, and California Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer asking if they would assist with clarifying the status for apprehension of those (FBI-designated) terrorists responsible for her father’s death. The letter was prompted by the first of two statements in two months by the president relating to American policy and the pursuit of terrorists. On June 17, 2014, President Obama had stated: “It’s important for us to send a message to the world: that when Americans are attacked, no matter how long it takes, we will find those responsible and we will bring them to justice.”
President Obama did not reply directly to the letter from Samya. Instead a White House reply dated September 24, 2014 was generated via the DOJ from Michael Steinbach (Assistant Director Counterterrorism Division, National Security Branch) who stated:”The FBI is currently pursuing all leads that could possibly be related to the death of your father. This includes interviewing anyone with information or who may be able to provide information on previously unidentified suspects.” The letter concludes by stating, “Due to the sensitivity of the ongoing investigation, we regret that we are unable to provide you with any additional details at this time.”
California Senator Barbara Boxer never gave the courtesy of a reply to Samya’s letter. Senator Feinstein did send a reply, stating she could only look into the matter once she received a completed “privacy release form” that was provided in her reply. Samya completed the form and returned it to the Senator. After months of waiting, Senator Feinstein never responded.
In addition to the Nov. 6, 2013 letter referenced above, U.S. Representatives Loretta Sanchez and John Conyers wrote a second letter to Representative Bob Goodlatte, Chairman of the House Committee of the Judiciary, to request a hearing on the status of the Odeh case.
On April 20, 2015, in an interview with KPFK’s radio program Middle East In Focus, Representative Sanchez stated: “We did not receive a response back from Chairman Goodlatte … he has somewhat indicated that there is nothing to be had with a hearing” to review the Odeh case.
This statement by Representative Sanchez marked the 30th year since the murder of Alex Odeh took place!
The single most obvious and significant question about the Alex Odeh case has to do with the enormous change in narrative by United States law enforcement with respect to confidence and ability to bring Alex’s killers to justice. In 1986 and 1987, FBI Assistant Director Oliver Revell’s statements included, “we have suspects … we are pursuing those suspects … [the case] is the highest priority … we have identified suspects [and] I believe, and truly believe, that we will solve it.”
Then, in only a matter of months after FBI statements of optimism, and after it became clear that the prime suspects had fled to Israel, information leaked from FBI sources in 1987 characterized Israel’s demeanor and lack of cooperation with U.S. law enforcement as being without “sustained improvement,” as well as “incomplete,” and “untimely.” It was also at this time that inquiries by interested parties were met with an essential blackout as to what was happening with the case. Since that time, FBI and DOJ response to inquiries have characterized the case to be too “sensitive” to discuss because it is still an ongoing and “open” investigation.
Fortunately, around the same time as U.S. law enforcement’s change from declared optimism to a posture of silence, journalist Robert Friedman wrote several articles published in the Los Angeles Times, the Village Voice and other publications and books that included a flood of information about what was taking place behind the scenes. In his writings, Mr. Friedman disclosed detailed information about activities and negotiations between U.S. and Israeli authorities for apprehension of suspected terrorists, including those thought to be responsible for the death of Alex Odeh. Mr. Friedman quotes leaked FBI memos and efforts by FBI agent Larry Wack, to penetrate Israeli politics in pursuit of those suspected terrorists. He also documents the strongly-held belief by politically elite conservatives in Israel and influential members of the American Jewish community at the time that those who killed perceived enemies of Israel were considered “heroes, not criminals.” [See Friedman’s “The False Prophet (1990), Chapter 15, “Who Killed Alex Odeh,” pp. 237-254.]
All of those believed to be responsible for the terrorist attack that killed Alex Odeh on U.S. soil were United States citizens who fled the United States to seek protection by a nation that is supposed to be friendly to the United States and is the recipient of billions of dollars of financial aid, provided annually by the American taxpayer.
The greatest disappointment and concern by those wishing to see justice prevail in this case is the sense of resignation and dismay that the government of the United States has failed to muster up the resolve and courage needed to pursue, capture and punish those responsible for killing Alex Odeh. There is no evidence to suggest that the United States government made clear or took the position with the government of Israel that U.S. – Israeli relations would suffer if Israel failed to assist with access to or arrest of those U.S. citizens who had fled to Israel to avoid prosecution for the death of Alex Odeh. With an implicit message of impunity, the United States huffed, then puffed, and then melted away when Israel failed to cooperate, claiming the illusion of victory when Robert Manning was belatedly extradited to the United States on the condition he not be charged in Alex’s death.
Today, Robert Manning is incarcerated at the Phoenix Federal Corrections Institution, a medium security facility managed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, an entity within the Department of Justice and ultimately under the authority of the U.S. Attorney General. Recently he petitioned to be transferred to Israel to carry out his sentence. The ADC along with members of the Arab-American community wrote letters to the Bureau of Prisons in opposition to the request. In Sept. 2013, this author participated in an extended conference call that included members of the national office of the ADC and three FBI agents familiar with the Odeh case. In that call one of the FBI agents stated that Robert Manning was an absolute and totally “committed Zionist” who would never cooperate in an investigation that might lead to criminal charges in the Odeh case. Indeed, the impression from the conference call was that, in trips to Israel to pursue this case, no U.S. law enforcement official ever questioned any of the suspects believed to be responsible for the death of Alex Odeh.
The Only Way Left
Because developments for justice in the case of Alex’s Odeh’s murder have been a circuitous connection of dots, a recap is in order:
Over 30 years ago, on Oct. 11, 1985, Alex Odeh, a Unites States citizen, was murdered, on U.S. soil, in a FBI-designated terrorist attack believed to be carried out by U.S. citizens.
Friends and associates of Alex were told by law enforcement shortly after the attack that they (law enforcement) knew “who did it.” Publicly, the FBI stated: “we have suspects in this case and are pursuing those suspects,” and, “the collection of information about those individuals tended to confirm our identification of them as the prime suspects.”
Those believed to be the terrorists “who did it” fled to Israel shortly after the attack to avoid jurisdiction of United States law enforcement.
The state of Israel, for years, obstructed efforts of U.S. law enforcement to apprehend the terrorist suspects.
Credible reports indicate DOJ and FBI expressed “fear” that “any attempt to extradite the suspects … would be met in Israel by a firestorm of protest from right-wing legislators.”
Eventually, Robert Manning, one of the prime suspects, was extradited to the United States on July 18, 1993 on charges unrelated to the death of Alex Odeh. This decision shows the United States yielding to political expediency rather than pursuing justice. Upon the extradition of Robert Manning, U.S. Attorney Dean Dunlavey, is quoted as saying: “I don’t want to get into this thing where we’re being accused of using this case as a stalking horse for the Odeh case.”
After Robert Manning was extradited to the United States on charges unrelated to the death of Alex Odeh, Manning’s wife Rochelle, who was also a suspect in the Odeh case, “apparently” suffered a heart attack and died in an Israeli prison while awaiting extradition to the United States.
Irv Rubin and Earl Krugel, who were individuals believed to possess information that could lead to the arrest of suspects responsible for the death of Alex Odeh, both died or were killed in prison before their contributions to move the Odeh case forward could be fulfilled.
No information or evidence exists to indicate any suspects believed to be responsible for the death of Alex Odeh who fled to Israel were ever questioned by U.S. Law enforcement.
Credible reports and analyses indicate that Israeli authorities withheld cooperation with U.S. law enforcement efforts to apprehend suspects in Israel due to prejudice against Alex Odeh’s ethnic identity and national origin.
It doesn’t require an intellectual powerhouse to conclude that efforts to bring the killer(s) of Alex Odeh to justice were bungled, suffered miscalculation or fell victim to political machinations of the notorious (and amorphous) ”special relationship” between Israel and the United States.
Thirty years is enough time to know that something significantly diminished the DOJ and FBI’s confidence for bringing Alex’s case to a just resolution. And what is known about the way the case developed over the years is significant because what did take place only brings more questions as to how the case was processed.
Given the posture of silence by the DOJ, it seems the only way to evaluate how this case was processed by U.S. law enforcement and to understand why it devolved to its current status would be to have a full and transparent congressional inquiry into the matter. Indeed, all of those hoping for justice believe there is “something to be had” by getting answers to the seemingly endless list of reasonable questions haunting this case.
“Lies,” wrote Alex in one of his poems, “are like still ashes; When the wind of truth blows, they are dispersed like dust, and disappear.”
By Richard Habib
Americans for Middle East Understanding (AMEU)