Wisconsin Paper Sued After Linking Gas Station Owner To 9/11

By: Joe Strupp The Reporter of Fond du Lac, Wis., has been sued for defamation by a Milwaukee-based petroleum company that claims a July article in the paper wrongly implied that the company had a connection with Sept. 11 terrorists, according to the Oshkosh Northwestern.

AAP Petroleum Inc. filed the lawsuit in Fond du Lac County Circuit Court on Sept. 27, the Oshkosh paper reported, naming Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc. as the defendant. The lawsuit claims defamation in a July 28 article published by The Reporter about a former owner of an AAP-operated gas station.

The civil complaint charges that a reporter attributed false statements to a Department of Homeland Security official about former Fond du Lac resident and gas station owner Faryad Hussain. The Pakistani man was deported after operating a marriage scam, the Northwestern reported, and the Citgo station he owned was later taken over by a new owner. AAP now operates the business.

The Reporter attributed to Senior Special Agent Jeff Stillings the belief that Hussain was "one of the plotters of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and an agent for Osama bin Laden." The newspaper followed a day later with a report of a statement issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that the agent had referred to Hussain as "an applauder."

The July 28 article included a photo of the gas station, as well as the address of the store, information on Hussain, and reported the store was "now under new ownership."

The complaint states that references to Hussain as a terrorist, a plotter or an agent of bin Laden are false and defamatory, and that AAP was defamed as well due to the proximity of the Citgo photograph to the article, the Northwestern reported.

"We intend to vigorously defend ourselves in this case," Lani Dorlack, publisher of The Reporter said in Wednesday's Northwestern. "Given the status of this case, that is all I will comment on at this juncture."

The complaint adds that AAP suffered damages that include lost income, lost earning capacity, and property destruction stemming from the article and accompanying photograph. The petroleum company demanded a retraction prior to filing the lawsuit, and the newspaper didn't comply, according to the complaint.