Jose Padilla: Al Qaeda Suspect Worked at Taco Bell?

A federal judge will soon rule on whether Jose Padilla, the suspected al Qaeda operative, is competent enough mentally to stand trial on terrorism charges. A team of government doctors concluded in a February 5th report that Padilla is not suffering from any kind of mental disorder and can be tried. Padilla's lawyer contents that Padilla has suffered three years of torture, isolation, and mistreatment at a government facility. The government report goes on to say that Padilla is suffering from "antisocial personality disorder" and was "semi-cooperative" during interviews. He refused to submit to psychological testing.

Padilla's defense doctors claim the he is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The government doctors rejected that claim. So now a federal judge must decide if he is mentally competent enough to stand trial on terrorist charges.

Padilla's life history is interesting. It is listed in a multiple page report written by government investigators. Some of the highlights include the following:

Jose Padilla is also known as Jose Rivera, Julio Rodriguez, Jose Ortiz, Ivrahim, Abu Avdullah the Puerto Rican, and Abu Adbullah Al Mujahir. He's officially classified as a 36 year old Caucasian-Hispanic male and charged with the following offenses: Conspiracy to Murder, Kidnap, and Conspiracy to Provide Material Support for Terrorists.

The defendant was born in Brooklyn, New York on October 18, 1970. His father died during his early childhood, and the defendant was raised by his mother along with his siblings. Mr. Padilla developed sever behavioral problems as a teenager and was in jail until he was about 18 years old. His mother describes him as "a kind, well-behaved child."

A Graduate Equivalency Diploma (GED) was obtained by him in 1996. The report indicates that the defendant was described as a "good student" and "received good grades."

His employment record indicates he worked at a series of fast food restaurants while in Florida (Burger King, Taco bell, and possibly others). It was reported that at some point he left the United States to teach English in Egypt.