Terror Suspects Urged To Play Ball

A minority partner of the Boston Red Sox confirmed Sunday that his private jet has been chartered to the CIA on numerous occasions. The vice chairman of the Red Sox, Phillip Morse, confirmed that his Gulfstream IV is chartered through Richmor Aviation in Hudson, N.Y.

''It's chartered a lot," Morse said in a media report. ''It just so happens one of our customers is the CIA. I was glad to have the business, actually. I hope it was all for a real good purpose."

FAA records show that between June 2002 and January 2005, the plane has flown to Afghanistan, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, Azerbaijan, and the Czech Republic, and made 82 visits to Dulles International Airport outside Washington, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The co-owner of Richmor Aviation, Mahlon Richards, said he believes Morse's plane was used to transport only federal workers and said his company had no information that it was ever used to US transport detainees. "I don't ask my customers why they go anywhere, whether it's West Palm Beach or the moon," he said.

A Red Sox news release said the team was ''unaware of and uninvolved in any activities undertaken by any of the club's limited partners in relation to the leasing of their private airplanes." The aircraft has been used only twice by the team..

"To me, it's stunning that they would link that stuff together. I'm a little bit embarrassed the Red Sox are linked to this, for no reason whatsoever." said Morse after a published report implied that the plane could have been used for "renditions," in which terror suspects arrested overseas have been returned to their native countries for interrogation.

FAA reports reported that the Jet was in Cairo on Feb 18 2003 according to the Chicago Tribune. That's the same day that an Islamic Cleric, Abu Omar, alleged that he had arrived in Cairo on a small plane. He had disappeared from his home in Italy, and later claimed that he was taken to Egypt and tortured. The Italian Government is investigating the case as a kidnapping.

After making two phone calls to his wife from Egypt last spring, Omar was re-arrested by Egyptian authorities. Italians assume he is still being held , but Egyptians have not replied to requests for his release.

FMI: www.cia.gov