Translator pleads guilty in citizenship case

NEW YORK (AP) -- A former Arabic translator for the Army in Iraq pleaded guilty Tuesday to using a false identity in his efforts to become a U.S. citizen.
Noureddine Malki, 46, became a citizen in 2000 using the name Almaliki Nour. Three years later, he went to work for a defense contractor as a translator and interpreter for an intelligence unit of the 82nd Airborne Division, according to an FBI complaint.
The FBI and Defense Department later discovered that he had fabricated his name, birth date, native country and family background, the complaint said.
He later told the FBI his real name and that he was from Morocco, the complaint said.
Malki faces up to six months in prison followed by deportation. No sentencing date was set.
At the time of his arrest in November, federal investigators also alleged Malki had more than 100 conversations this year with people directly involved with the Iraqi insurgency, and that classified documents about combating the insurgency were found in his New York apartment. But Malki was never charged with those more serious crimes.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.