Russett residents shocked by neighbor's past

The revelation that a Laurel restaurateur was funneling information about American military operations to Saddam Hussein's government has shocked the people in the neighborhood where he lived.

Saubhe Jassim Al-Dellemy, 67 and of Russett, admitted to conspiracy to act as an unregistered agent, a felony that can lead to a five-year sentence and $250,000 in fines. Court records show he admitted to giving officials from Iraq's Baath Party details about training and travel for members of the United States Army.

Before this revelation last month, he was just known as the quiet man who ran the kabob restaurant off of Route 198.

"On the surface, you would not have gotten the impression when you go in that they were anything but a hardworking local couple," said Russett resident Jeanne Mignon, who frequented the restaurant and was friendly with Al-Dellemy and his wife, who also worked there.

The conviction also has left people in his neighborhood nervous - they are just miles away from one of the country's most secretive intelligence organizations - the National Security Agency - and many people in the area have security clearances, allowing them access to highly classified information.

"It was a shock to a lot of people, including myself," said Tim Reyburn, president of the Russett Community Association.

Al-Dellemy could not be reached and his two lawyers did not return calls for comment.

According to court documents, Al-Dellemy was born in Iraq and was a member of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party. He came to the United States in the 1980s as a student with his education paid for by the party. In return, he was expected to provide his native country and its intelligence organization with information about the United States.

He later opened Gourmet Shish Kabob, a restaurant on Route 198, across the street from Russett, the massive subdivision in Laurel where he lived. In 2000 he became a permanent resident of the United States.

In 1990, the United States cut diplomatic ties with Iraq after the country invaded Kuwait, triggering the first Gulf War. Working out of the Algerian Embassy, Al-Dellemy shredded documents that detailed the work and identities of Iraqi citizens helping their native country from the United States.

Through the years he also met with and provided meeting space for a group of Iraqis who held anti-American sentiments and passed along information to Iraqi officials detailing U.S. Army officer and troop training and travel schedules.

Al-Dellemy "also utilized his restaurant as a means to gather information pertaining to United States government agencies in close proximity to the restaurant, such as the National Security Agency and Fort George G. Meade," court documents say.

Between his cohorts, he went by a code name, "Adam," and was paid by the Iraqi government for his work.

His actions went on unnoticed until after Iraq was invaded in March 2003 and the United States government obtained classified Iraqi documents that outlined his work.

He was confronted in October by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and denied doing anything to help Hussein's government, the Baath Party or receiving money from either.

While his restaurant was a meeting place for his colleagues, community members said the restaurant itself had good food, good service and the owner was nice.

"The people were always friendly. After 9/11 they had a flag and God bless America and everything," Ms. Mignon said.

Al-Dellemy was candid about his nationality and his association with Hussein and the Baath Party. People liked his food and made no assumptions, Ms. Mignon said.

"To the people who frequented the place, he was a neighbor and we didn't want to have undue prejudice because of his background. That would be crummy," Ms. Mignon said.

But the police were trying to put Al-Dellemy's neighbors on alert.

A few days after the 2003 invasion of Iraq began, members of the Maryland Joint Terrorism Task Force stopped by the Russett Community Center, Mr. Reyburn said.

During their unannounced visit the agents explained how new suburban communities tend to be hot spots for people who may harbor anti-American sentiments - every family is the new one on the block and who people are and their histories are not always known. Places like Russett, a neighbor to NSA, are at particular risk, Mr. Reyburn said.

"They basically said that communities that are new, new suburban communities, versus, like a Maryland City, are at higher risk of these sorts of individuals moving in," he said.

Before the agents left, they gave Mr. Reyburn copies of a flyer that encouraged people to call the task force if they saw people doing anything suspicious, things like asking questions, taking notes or driving around.

But Mr. Reyburn said he had never seen anything suspicious of the sort on his neighborhood.