La Shish owner says he doesn’t support terrorism

LA SHISH CHAIN OWNER DENIES TIES TO TERROR
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Byline/Affiliation:	By NIRAJ WARIKOO FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
	5/24/2006

The owner of the La Shish chain of restaurants defended himself Tuesday against government accusations that he has ties to a terrorist organization, saying in an e-mailed statement from his company’s public relations firm that “these reports are absolutely false and unduly defame me, my company and employees.”

Federal prosecutors maintain that Talal Chahine, 51, of Dearborn Heights has “connections at the highest levels of … Hizballah.” Chahine and his wife, Elfat El Aouar, 39, of Plymouth, are charged in a tax-evasion scheme, accused of skimming more than $20 million from the La Shish restaurants. Authorities say some money was funneled to Lebanon.

In the court documents, the government says that Chahine and El Aouar attended a fund-raiser in 2002 in Lebanon, at which Chahine and Hizballah’s spiritual leader, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, were the keynote speakers.

The two conferred privately, the government says. The government also says that Chahine sponsored orphans that may have been related to Hizballah activity and posed for photos at a Hizballah outpost in Lebanon.

But in a statement released by a public relations firm representing La Shish Inc., Chahine said that “untrue allegations have been made which wrongly link me with a particular organization.”

In his statement, he said that “the event reported by the government as being ‘suspicious’ involved a 2002 fund-raiser at which I spoke on the duty of Muslims everywhere to perform charitable acts and live in peace with their neighbors.”

He also said that “it is quite disheartening that our philanthropic efforts aimed at peace and charity for all are being characterized as otherwise.”

Friends and others who know Chahine also criticized the government’s efforts to link Chahine with Hizballah. They pointed out Tuesday that Chahine has not been charged with any terrorism crime.

On Friday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed court documents seeking to deny the release of El Aouar, who was arrested last week.

Chahine is in Lebanon, prosecutors say, and El Aouar was released Friday on bond.

The statement further said:

“We appreciate the long-standing and continued support of our patrons and friends in the metropolitan Detroit community.”

“Untrue allegations have been made which wrongly link me with a particular organization.”Talal Chahine, La Shish Inc. owner, responding to allegations he supported Hizballah. The message came from a public relations firm; Chahine is said to be in Lebanon.

– Contact NIRAJ WARIKOO at 248-351-2998 or nwarikoo@freepress.com.