As he sought to process the mind-numbing reality of hijacked commercial airliners slashing through the World Trade Center towers in New York, then-acting U.S. Attorney Guy Lewis was in for another shock as he met with top South Florida law enforcement leaders in the wake of the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Lewis recalled that Hector Pesquera, special agent in charge of the FBI in Miami at the time, told the gathering in Lewis’ Miami office that his agents had no information about the attackers. Law enforcement officials would later learn that 16 of the 19 had lived in Florida, taken flight training courses in the state or entered the United States through Florida airports.
