Terrorist or Deportably Stupid?

Maybe he was just a fan of the movie, "Catch Me if You Can," but the Egyptian student at the University of Memphis caught with an airline pilot's uniform and a DVD instructing him in the fine art of impersonating one gets low marks on cultural survival skills, at least in America after 9/11.

As reported by WaPo:

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- A university student from Egypt was ordered held without bond after prosecutors said they found a pilot's uniform, chart of Memphis International Airport and a DVD titled "How an Airline Captain Should Look and Act" in his apartment.

The FBI is investigating whether Mahmoud Maawad, 29, had any connection to terrorists. He is awaiting trial on charges of wire fraud and fraudulent use of a Social Security number.

Maawad, who is in the United States illegally, told the judge during a hearing Thursday that he is studying science and economics at the University of Memphis.

"My school is everything. I stay in this country for seven years; I stay for the school," he said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Parker said Thursday that the airport-related items were found during a Sept. 9 search.

"The specific facts and circumstances are scary," Parker said.

Apparently he wasn't well funded, which might be a point in favor of his innocence.

The company reported Maawad to authorities when he didn't pay for $2,500 of merchandise it had delivered, Gulczynski said.

Oops!