FBI criticizes local TV promotional spot on missing men

A local TV station drew fire from the FBI Thursday for the way it promoted a news story that suggests three former area men may be linked to international terrorism. That link, a bureau spokesman said, does not exist. The case involves three Olathe men who vanished last year, along with $150,000, just before the Sept. 11 attacks. KSHB, Channel 41, is airing the story in two parts this week under the title, "Into the Night." "Is Kansas City Harboring Terrorists?" asked a news release e-mailed to area media by a KSHB publicist. A promotional spot on Channel 41 asked, "Does Kansas City have ties to terrorism?" FBI spokesman Jeff Lanza, who was interviewed for KSHB's story, called the publicity "sensationalistic and inflammatory," adding, "members of our Joint Terrorism Task Force were very surprised with the way the segment was being promoted." KSHB's general manager, Jim Swinehart, defended the station's story and its publicity. "The promotion that I saw on the air accurately portrays the story and the questions that it raised," Swinehart said Thursday. "If we promote something and don't deliver on it, we're ultimately answerable for that with our viewers." Part one of the series aired Thursday night. Part two airs at 10 p.m. tonight on Channel 41, repeating at 10:30 p.m. on KPXE, Channel 50. Thursday was the first night of the November ratings "sweep," a four-week period of audience measurement. The report, which was previewed Thursday by The Kansas City Star, told the story of three Pakistani nationals who owned and operated two 7-Eleven franchises in the Olathe area from 1999 to 2001. On the night of Sept. 5, 2001, the three men disappeared. Although the Olathe Police Department began the investigation, the FBI became involved after Sept. 11. It was one of hundreds of leads the bureau looked into involving possible terrorist activity. Police think at least two of the missing men flew to New York with reservations on another flight to Pakistan after they abandoned the stores Sept. 5. The third man rented a U-Haul in the area and presumably drove off, officials said. Police do not know whether the men left the country or, if they did, whether any of them have returned. They did, however, leave behind tantalizing clues, including fake IDs and unexplained travel receipts. Those clues are the focus of KSHB's story by reporter Michele Rooney. Lanza and Olathe Police Sgt. Scott Russell are both quoted in Rooney's story. Russell said Thursday that as long as Rooney said that police found no link between the three men and terrorist activity, he had no complaint. Rooney's story cites both men saying just that. Lanza said that KSHB's publicity "does not mirror the FBI's interest in the case," and he stressed that the FBI "examined the situation and found no link to 9/11 or any other terrorist activity." Olathe police are investigating the case as a theft of about $150,000 from two 7-Eleven franchises and credit card companies. They took the case to the district attorney's white-collar crime division Tuesday so a prosecutor could offer suggestions for further investigation. - The Star's Richard Espinoza and Mark Morris contributed to this report. - To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com