Local man has encounter with suspected terrorist
By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — The recent arrest of an Ashland, Mass., man charged in connection with a plot to damage or destroy the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol using remote-controlled aircraft, has a local connection to a Presque Isle businessman.
An article in the Boston Herald dated Oct. 3 identifies the Presque Isle man as Mike Beaulieu, owner of Scale RC Models of Maine. According to the story, Beaulieu was approached by a man identifying himself as Dave Winfield — later identified as Ashland terror suspect Rezwan Ferdaus, 26 — who told Beaulieu he was a devoted father who was looking to bond with his son through the use of model airplanes.
In the article, Beaulieu expressed concerns over what the man was willing to pay for a first-time enthusiast.
“I tried to discourage him,” said Beaulieu in the Boston Herald story. “He was talking a $4,000 or $5,000 investment for one airplane. I told him, ‘You start out paying $200. If you crash it, you don’t feel so bad.’ He said his son wouldn’t be a very happy camper.”
The article, however, did not indicate whether a sale took place between Beaulieu and Ferdaus.
Officials confirmed on the United States Attorneys Office, District of Massachusetts, website, “A 26-year-old Ashland man was arrested and charged Sept. 28 in connection with his plot to damage or destroy the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol, using large remote controlled aircraft filled with C-4 plastic explosives. Rezwan Ferdaus, a U.S. citizen, was also charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization, specifically to al Qaeda, in order to carry out attacks on U.S. soldiers stationed overseas.”
Beaulieu, concerned about being contacted by Boston news agencies in regard to the alleged terrorist’s arrest, notified local police of his close encounter. According to the Presque Isle Police Department’s log entry for Sept. 28, Beaulieu told police he “was concerned because he produces and sells RC model aircraft on the Internet from his home” but claimed he “didn’t have any idea as to how he could be connected to the man in Boston.”
Contact was made between the PIPD and the FBI and information shared.
Attempts to reach Beaulieu for comment were unsuccessful at presstime.
