Elmo adds Denial of Citizenship to his Lawsuit

Reader's Digest magazine's Hero of the Year, former Durham cab driver Moezeldin Elmostafa has expanded his lawsuit against the former Hecht's security guard, Jonathan Massey, Hecht's Company Inc, and Macy's Retail Holdings.

The Durham Herald-Sun's John Stevenson reported.

..Elmostafa received judicial permission this week to add the unusual citizenship clause to an already existing lawsuit.

Loflin and Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Orlando F. Hudson said Tuesday they were unaware of any previous court claims of the kind.

A Sudanese immigrant, Elmostafa finally gained his U.S. citizenship in April of this year.

Now, he wants reimbursement from those who allegedly delayed the process by once bringing a misdemeanor criminal charge against him. They include a former Hecht's security guard named Jonathan Massey, Hecht's Company Inc. and Macy's Retail Holdings Inc., which has taken over the Hecht's operation.

Raleigh lawyer Dan Hartzog, representing the defendants, said Tuesday he could not comment on the allegation of delayed citizenship.

A warrant had accused Elmostafa of helping a woman steal $250 worth of handbags from the former Hecht's store at Northgate Mall in 2003.

The then-cabbie was acquitted in August 2006 after testifying that he merely gave the woman a ride and didn't know what she was up to.

By then, the handbag incident had been linked to the Duke lacrosse case, in which three student athletes were charged with sexually assaulting an exotic dancer during an off-campus party in March 2006.

Elmostafa became an alibi witness for one of the athletes, Reade Seligmann, since he drove Seligmann to a bank machine, fast-food restaurant and campus dorm while the alleged sexual attack supposedly was in progress.

The way Elmostafa saw it, the 2003 criminal warrant against him was resurrected three years later in retaliation for his anti-prosecution stance in the lacrosse proceedings... Herald-Sun

Former Durham DA investigator Linwood Wilson in his deposition of May 23, 2007 to the NC State Bar attorneys, admitted that he and Ashley Cannon (former Durham ADA), went and interviewed Lisa Hawkins in jail. She was the person who was convicted of the crime. She admitted to them,

"That she didn't tell(Elmo) what was going on"

Despite that and her refusal to testify against Elmo, the DAs Office went ahead and tried to convict Elmo. He was found Not Guilty!

Durham rewards Hero with more Harassment

In the DC Comics "Superman", there exists “Bizarro World.” It’s a place where good is bad, evil is good, right is wrong, as their society is ruled by the Bizarro Code which states "Us do opposite of all Earthly things! Us hate beauty! Us love ugliness! Is big crime to make anything perfect on Bizarro World!".

Welcome to Durham, errh... Mahrud! The City where innocent players were falsely accused of a crime which never happened, where angry marchers opined over the non-injuries of an "exotic" dancer while she stripped at a local club, where the PD violated its own procedures openly and the Chief defended a line up as it wasn't a real line up, where notes were written months later, where exculpatory evidence was hidden by the DA & PD, where criminals are let loose over & over again, and now Heroes are harassed.

On March 27, 2008 Durham resident Moezeldin Elmostafa was awarded Reader’s Digest Hero of the Year on the national Today show. Two weeks later he has turned in his cab permits in a dispute with the City.

Durham Herald-Sun reporter Ray Gronberg reported on this latest of Bizzaro events.

Lacrosse cabbie gives up on taxis

DURHAM -- A taxi company co-owned by a figure in the Duke University lacrosse case has turned in its city-issued permits in the wake of a run-in with administrators and a regulatory board.

Moezeldin Elmostafa said Friday evening that his company, On Time Taxi & Transportation, gave up its three taxi permits last week because it wants to focus on shuttle and limousine services that aren't as tightly regulated by the city.

The taxi business -- which the city views as being different from shuttle services -- "is too much of a headache," he said.

The company's decision followed a November move by the city to revoke the three permits, in response to complaints from other taxi operators who alleged the firm was unfairly competing with them for the business of Duke students.

A city administrator agreed with the complaint, and so in December did the members of Durham's Passenger Vehicle for Hire Commission. They held that officials should strip the company of its right to operate three taxis in the city.

Elmostafa's company appealed the ruling to the City Council, and was going to receive partial support from administrators who doubted the chances of sustaining a move against the company in court.

City Manager Patrick Baker had recommended that elected officials ask the Passenger Vehicle for Hire Commission to reconsider its decision.

He reasoned that the enforcement of the city's tax regulations has been uneven enough through the years that a judge might not see a move against the company as being fair.

In addition, officials felt revocation of the permits "may have been a harsh penalty" for the alleged violation, said Mark Ahrendsen, the city's transportation manager.

But any move against the company is fraught with risk for the city because of Elmostafa's role in the Duke lacrosse case. He was an alibi witness for Reade Seligmann, one of three lacrosse players falsely accused two years ago of rape.

Elmostafa was going to testify, with backing from photos and receipts, that Seligmann and another lacrosse player, Robert Wellington, were in his vehicle on the way to an ATM, a restaurant and their dorm when the rape supposedly occurred.

His potential testimony became controversial as soon as his name surfaced when police responded by arresting him on a 3-year-old shoplifting warrant. A lawyer for the cabbie, Tom Loflin, labeled the move an act of retaliation.

The shoplifting charge went to trial, and Elmostafa was found not guilty of helping a woman steal merchandise from Northgate Mall.

The city is now facing three federal civil-rights lawsuits in connection with its handling of the lacrosse case. Elmostafa isn't a party to any of them, but all three echo Loflin's original claim and count it among the city's misdeeds.

Ahrendsen said Elmostafa's role in the lacrosse case was "something we were aware of" but that "really didn't have a bearing on our initial action" on the permits.

Elmostafa agreed.

"I don't think there's a relation to the lacrosse case," he said when asked Friday if he thought officials were targeting him over that continuing controversy. "This is going in a different direction."

The permit dispute stems from the fact that in the city's eyes, Elmostafa's company was both a taxi operator and a shuttle service.

Under Durham law, shuttles can only take people on a "pre-arranged trip," meaning that clients have to call for a pick-up and that the ride has a fixed price, Ahrendsen said.

Taxis use meters to charge by the mile, or by the minute of waiting time, and have the right to loiter at the curb outside hotels, motels and other places.

Only the vehicles for which On Time had city taxi medallions had the right to wait at the curb for business at Duke, but some of the company's competitors felt it was playing fast and loose with the rules by allowing drivers of its 12 shuttles to join in.

An Ahrendsen subordinate, Gracie Chamblee, said in a memo that she caught three On Time shuttle drivers doing just that on Nov. 21, as students were leaving for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Ahrendsen said taxi companies don't like shuttle operators because they don't "go through the same regulatory process as taxis" and don't have the same financial burdens.

Many economists, however, see permit systems like Durham's as being little more than a racket designed to stifle competition. The most famous medallion system, New York City's, dates from the Depression and was expressly designed to reduce the number of taxis on the road.

Durham law allows officials to issue up to 180 taxi permits, but at most recent count it had given out only 139. Local taxi operators have asked administrators not to issue more than that, Ahrendsen said. Herald-Sun

So there will be no Key to the City, no proclamation from the Mayor and the City Council praising this nationally recognized Hero.

"Mahrud" has sunk to a new low.

Moezeldin Elmostafa - 2008 Hero of the Year

Moezeldin Elmostafa in Court wouldn't be intimidated by Nifong's Boys

A warm and well-deserved congratulations goes to Mr. Moezeldin Elmostafa of Durham, North Carolina, chosen as as the Reader's Digest 2008 Hero of the Year.

By a wide margin, readers chose Moezeldin Elmostafa of Durham, North Carolina, as the Reader's Digest 2008 Hero of the Year.

As we reported in November, the cabdriver picked up two young men in Durham on March 14, 2006, and drove them to the Duke University campus. A month later, Elmostafa was asked to testify on behalf of one of the men, who had been charges, with two other Duke lacrosse player, with sexually assaulting an exotic dancer. Despite intense pressure from the prosecution, Elmostafa agreed to appear as a witness and helped exonerate the trio. Having recently passed his U. S. citizenship test, the Sudanese immigrant says he did only what all citizens should do --- tell the truth. (PlumInnocent - April issue of Reader's Digest page 24)

See Liestopper's article about Elmo from Nov 7, 2007

We urge Durham 's Mayor Bell declared a Day of Honor and award the Key to the City to one of Durham finest citizens!

Hat Tip: PlumInnocent, J

Time to Honor Durham's Hero

Reader's Digest is having it's readers vote for the Hero of 2008. Moezeldin Elmostafa, whom we affectionately call "Elmo," is one of eleven national Everyday Heros nominated.

Our Everyday Heroes risk their own lives to help people in trouble. They know that doing right by others is more rewarding than a big paycheck, and they do it without expectation of accolades or even a thank-you. That’s part of what makes them so inspiring. Which story from the past year touched you the most? Cast your vote here. We’ll announce the results in April, when we honor the Hero of the Year with a special ceremony. Reader' Digest

VOTE HERE UNDER THE "WITNESS"

Cabdriver Moezeldin Elmostafa risked all for the truth.

He’d fled violence and corruption in his native Sudan and had come to Durham, North Carolina. Moezeldin Elmostafa worked hard and became a partner in a taxi company.

Shortly after midnight on March 14, 2006, he drove two young men to Duke University. A month later, he got a call to testify for one of three Duke lacrosse players charged with sexually assaulting an exotic dancer. What would happen to him if he did testify? The taxi driver thought of his own two-year-old son, Mohammed—and agreed. Then the police showed up and took him away, reopening an earlier charge for a minor crime. It was to frighten him, he believed, off the defense’s case. Elmostafa had to borrow $2,500 for attorney fees, but he stuck to his story—it was the truth. And he was cleared of all charges. Eight months later, so were the Duke lacrosse players.

The experience hasn’t soured Elmostafa on America. He’s passed his citizenship exam and is waiting to take the oath. "I’m looking forward to being a good citizen." Reader's Digest

Hat Tip: Peacerebel & thanks to Reader's Digest

Moezeldin Elmostafa - Hero

September 7, 2007 - Moezeldin Elmostafa watched as disgraced, disbarred, and former DA Nifong reported to jail

In the Duke Lacrosse Hoax there is plenty of blame & shame to spread around. We have the disgraced, disbarred, and former DA Nifong, who along with members of the Durham PD attempted to frame three innocent young men over a crime which never happened. We had Duke University President Brodhead, along with sidekick VP Burness, throw the entire Lacrosse Team under the bus of prejudgement while they pretended to let the process work. We had the Duke Faculty, known as the "88", display their outright bigotry in the press and on campus as they attempted to push their own twisted viewpoints of race, class, and gender for political power. We had the local press, who instead of fact checking the police misinformation ran with it and used anonymous sources to spin this sordid tale of white boys run wild, a complete lie. We had the Judge of the Hoax, Ronald Stephens, who abused his power to sign warrants and orders to push this Hoax forward. From Duke University Medical Center to almost every organization in Durham that touched this Hoax we saw a consistent and persuasive attempt to not only hide from the truth, but assist in the promulgation of falsehoods.

Then there is Elmo, as we affectionately call him. Moezeldin Elmostafa, the local Durham cabdriver who stood up to Nifong and told the truth.

Reader's Digest has an article about this Hero of the Hoax,

A Costly Fare
The cabdriver was living the American dream. He had fled the violence in his native Sudan in 1999 and had come to the United States, settling in North Carolina because he’d heard it was warm, like Africa. He sent money home to his parents every month, first from his job delivering pizza and then from wages at an IBM factory. But Moezeldin Elmostafa had bigger dreams—of opening his own business and bringing his wife and three children to live with him. In 2004 he started a taxi service with a friend. He could not have imagined that, two years later, a late-night fare would put him at the center of one of the country’s most notorious legal cases.... Reader's Digest


LieStoppers would like to note that most of the individuals who help promote this Hoax had university degrees, professional certification, and actual positions of Power. Elmo has something more powerful & more important, it's called Personal Integrity!

Hat Tip: abb