Drew Griffin | BIO
CNN Investigative Correspondent

Drew Griffin and Kathleen Johnston
CNN

Outside a Manhattan mosque where the imam preaches against terrorism, the brothers of the "Revolution Muslim" are spreading a different message.

Protected by the Constitution of the country they detest, radical Muslim converts like Yousef al-Khattab and Younes Abdullah Mohammed preach that the killing of U.S. troops overseas is justified. In their thinking, so were the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States - and so are attacks on almost any American.

"Americans will always be a target - and a legitimate target - until America changes its nature in the international arena," Mohammed said in an interview to air on tonight's "AC 360."

Al-Khattab and Mohammed consider al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden their model.

"I love him like I can't begin to tell you, because he doesn't seem to have done anything wrong from the sharia," al-Khattab said, referring to Islamic law. "If you're asking me if I love him as a Muslim, I love him more than I love myself."

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Program Note: See an investigation into why authorities are concerned about the violent messages being preached outside a New York mosque on tonight's AC360° at 10 PM ET.

Drew Griffin and Kathleen Johnston
CNN

Outside a Manhattan mosque where the imam preaches against terrorism, the brothers of the "Revolution Muslim" are spreading a different message.

Protected by the Constitution of the country they detest, radical Muslim converts like Yousef al-Khattab and Younes Abdullah Mohammed preach that the killing of U.S. troops overseas is justified. In their thinking, so were the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States - and so are attacks on almost any American.

"Americans will always be a target - and a legitimate target - until America changes its nature in the international arena," Mohammed said.

Al-Khattab and Mohammed consider al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden their model.

Keep Reading...

Drew Griffin | BIO
CNN Investigative Correspondent

Drew Griffin
CNN

Debris clutters a road in Pago Pago, American Samoa, after a devastating earthquake and tsunami last month.

Drew Griffin | BIO
CNN Investigative Correspondent

It’s New Orleans all over again. Just 2,600 miles south of Hawaii, so nobody is noticing.

American Samoa IS an American territory, but in some parts, it looked to me like the third world. Children rummaging through broken scraps of what once was a house, a woman making the family meal on an outside counter made from a broken door. A three- year-old, yes just three, walking barefoot through a debris field filled with nails. And where was any sign of government help? Nowhere.

After a devastating tsunami rocked the territory on September 29th, we got a tip by email.

The email told us American Samoa had a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to build a tsunami warning siren system. The system was never built. Thirty-four people died. And it's now the subject of an FBI investigation.

But the trip also uncovered much more: American Samoa’s government has been unresponsive to the needs of its hardest-hit villages. Billions of dollars in U.S. government handouts to this island show little to no signs of doing any good, and despite all the money taxpayers send here, very few federal officials have bothered to find out where it has been spent.

You will see the first of our reports tonight. When you watch, ask yourself what I kept asking: is this really America?

Drew Griffin
CNN 

CNN's Drew Griffin in the middle of the very unbusy border station in Scobey, Montana.

Drew Griffin and Kathleen Johnston
CNN Special Investigations Unit

Program Note: Watch Drew Griffin's report on these remote border crossings tonight on A360° at 10pm EST.

We were driving through some of the most remote country in the United States, chasing a story that seemed hard to believe.

The Department of Homeland Security had announced it was spending $31 million to enhance and upgrade two remote border crossings - just 12 miles apart - on the border between Montana and the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The spending was lauded by Montana's two senators, even though only an average of 22 cars a day traveled through these border posts.

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Yechezekel Nagauker in a Chinese hospital where he got a kidney transplant after paying $100,000.

Drew Griffin and David Fitzpatrick
CNN Special Investigations Unit

In a dank Tel Aviv hospital room, you can see at a glance just how desperate some Israelis are for a new kidney.

In one bed, Ricki Shai's mother lies practically unresponsive. Her diabetes is slowly killing her. It already has forced the amputation of both of her legs.

Sitting in a bed beside her is Shai's father, Yechezekel Nagauker, also a diabetic. But he decided, his daughter says, not to wait for a kidney donor.

"My father didn't want to be like my mother," Shai told CNN.

In April, Nagauker cut a deal with a kidney broker who promised him a new life and a new kidney for $100,000. It was available only in China, the donor said.

"The broker went to him and suggested that he become a new man. 'Come with me. Two days, $100,000, and two days you will be a new man,'" Shai said.

Today, Shai calls the broker "the killer."

Nagauker's body is rejecting the new kidney.

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Drew Griffin
CNN Special Investigations Unit

According to the World Health Organization, one out of every 10 kidney transplants in the world is done illegally.

Most of the time, that means a living person has been paid to donate a kidney.

Figures are often hard to grasp, but consider this: if the WHO is correct, that means today, in the United States, four people are receiving brand new kidneys that have been purchased from a living donor.

In researching this story, I have found that the buying and selling of kidneys is rampant. And although this may sound extremely cold, it’s so rampant, in fact, that anyone in need of a kidney, on dialysis, or awaiting a crash victim to die so he or she can live, is simply wasting time.

It is illegal to purchase a kidney in the United States, but if estimates are anywhere near accurate, four people today will do just that - navigating the intricacies of fooling a hospital and a surgeon into allowing the surgery to take place.

In the first of our reports tonight you will see the extent of the problem, the ease with which patients and donors can deceive medical authorities and the cold reality that the illegal kidney market is so extensive it may be impossible to stop.

And you may come to find yourself facing the same dilemma as many others: should it be stopped at all? Or should those willing to sell a kidney be allowed to test the market, profit from their own healthy bodies and aid those who are dying to buy?

Program Note: Four years after Katrina, what is New Orleans like now? Some residents continue to face challenges as the Big Easy keeps trying to rebuild. Take a look at In Depth: After the Storm. And to learn about ways you can make a difference, visit Impact Your World.

These pills were sent to CNN's Drew Griffin, even though he was never seen by a doctor.

Editor's Note: Four Emmy nominees for Outstanding Investigative Reporting on a Regularly Scheduled Newscast were announced today. CNN's David Fitzpatrick and Drew Griffith were nominated for their pieces on online prescription drug abuse.

Drew Griffin and David Fitzpatrick
CNN Special Investigations Unit

Every night before he went to bed, he would open a prescription bottle of the muscle relaxant Soma and swallow the 8 or 9 pills his wife says would be the only way he could get to sleep. Only last summer the doses were increasing.

She thought the drugs, arriving at her doorstep every week were being prescribed by a treating physician. Her husband had been in a car accident, suffered from back pain, and Soma was the one drug that could relieve the aches.

She was wrong. Although she wants to protect her husband’s identity and hers so as not to embarrass her husband’s family, she is willing to tell the story of how he died.

She found him last August in bed in a pool of vomit. The cause of death, accidental overdose.

The widow says there is no doubt her husband was an addict. She also says the internet sites that sold him the drugs were his pushers.

"Absolutely” she told CNN. “That's exactly what they are."

"These pharmacy people that are doing this and these doctors that are doing this. They don't give a dag gum about people; it’s just the almighty dollar that’s all it is."

Any drug in the world by clocking a mouse

A CNN investigation into just how easy it is to purchase prescription drugs, online, without a prescription reveals a growing and largely ignored new battle in the war on drug abuse.

Carmen Catizone, the executive director of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy says prescription drugs are the new crack and heroin, and internet sites that sell them are the new drug dealers.

"You can order virtually any drug in the world by simply clicking a mouse and going to various websites that exist out there," Catizone told CNN.

To prove it, a CNN investigative reporter logged on to the internet site linepaharmacy.com, a site that advertises a long list of prescription drugs for sale. The site sent us an email saying "all orders made are still subjected to Doctor's evaluation."

The CNN reporter placed two orders with the site: one for Prozac, the other for the anti-depressant Elavil. A health survey on the site was already filled in. The reporter submitted a credit card and a shipping address.

Within 24 hours the Prozac had arrived at the reporter’s front door. The Elevil arrived two days later. Both prescription bottles had a doctor’s name and pharmacy on the label. The reporter had neither seen a doctor, talked to a doctor on the phone, nor had ever heard of the doctor.

Lawmakers: “Show us the dead bodies”

Catizone insists the purchases made to CNN were illegal. But he says pharmacy laws are subject to individual state control, and though illegal in every state, individual pharmacy boards in the fifty states have virtually no investigative power, budget or resources to shut down the growing number of sites selling drugs over the internet.

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy has tried to lobby congress, asking form some federal oversight or federal prosecution to stem the tide of the growing, illegal internet pharmacies. But Catizone says legislators gave the board a chilly response.

"Show us the dead bodies, and if that was me or my family that's a pretty sad statement for our legislators to give," Catizone says.

Network of pharmacies and doctors

The internet sites work with a network of small pharmacies inside and outside the U.S. According the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, unscrupulous doctors are paid to have their names used on the prescriptions, even though the doctors never see the patients or even review the orders.

Nancy Fitzpatrick, a Washington State woman who tried to commit suicide with internet purchased drugs showed CNN her prescription of Soma which was delivered by a pharmacy in American Forks, Utah and prescribed by a doctor in Long island, New York. Fitzpatrick, the sister of a CNN investigative producer, says she had no contact with the doctor or the pharmacy.

The doctor, Dr. Kareem Tannous, lives in a $4 million dollar estate on Long Island and runs three health clinics. When confronted about the prescription’s in front of his Valley Stream, NY clinic, Tannous hustled to his car and drove off without answering a single question.

Workers inside Roots Pharmacy in American Forks, Utah also refused to answer questions. The second story office in the small foothill town has a bolted security door, closed circuit security cameras. The workers inside refused to even open the door or provide the name of the owner.

In the reception area on the first floor, dozens of boxes of empty FedEx envelopes were waiting to be filled. And with CNN cameras rolling, one of the workers emptied a large clear plastic trash bag filled with empty wholesale prescription drug bottles. Most of the containers were labeled Carisoprodol, the generic name of the muscle relaxant Soma.

"They need to be stopped,” Fitzpatrick says. “It just boggles my mind that it's so simple."

Editor's note: Read a report on this investigation at CNN.com/health, and check out CNN producer David Fitzpatrick's blog on how online drugs affected his family.

These pills were sent to CNN's Drew Griffin, even though he was never seen by a doctor.

Editor's Note: Four Emmy nominees for Outstanding Investigative Reporting on a Regularly Scheduled Newscast were announced today. CNN's David Fitzpatrick and Drew Griffith were nominated for their pieces on online prescription drug abuse.

David Fitzpatrick
Special Investigations Unit Producer

If there was any doubt at all that the sale of prescription drugs over the internet, without a doctor’s legitimate authorization, is very big business, what happened in Kansas over the last couple of days should dispel those notions in a heartbeat.

The Kansas Attorney General’s office arrested and jailed three people, a pharmacist and the co-owners of a small pharmacy in the northwestern part of the state, on multiple felony and misdemeanor counts. Hogan’s Pharmacy is in a tiny town called Lyons. And according to documents filed in court, this small storefront operation, in a town of no more than 3,000 people, handled nearly $1.9 million in wire transfers in 2007 alone.

CNN Correspondent Drew Griffin and I went to Lyons a few months ago as part of an AC 360 investigation into internet prescription abuse. We had met and interviewed a young widow only the day before. Her husband had ordered the muscle-relaxant drug Soma over the internet—time and time again. Many of the pills came from Hogan’s Pharmacy and came without any legitimate order from a physician. One day last year, she went to their bedroom and found her husband unresponsive. He had died of an overdose of Soma.

There’s a good reason why doctors limit doses of Soma. Research by the Food and Drug Administration shows that it is one of those class of drugs which can be easily abused. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, there’s now some consideration being given to classifying Soma as a “controlled substance,” putting it in the same category of dangerous drugs such as Xanax and Hydrocodone..

I was sitting in my New York City office when that widow telephoned me to express her thanks to the Kansas authorities and to CNN for the investigative work. She told me she would likely testify in any coming trials and was looking forward to doing so.

Keeping them honest, we’ll continue to investigate prescription drug sales over the Internet.

Attorney General Steve Six announced charges today against Hogan’s Pharmacy owners Jolane and Mark Poindexter for their part in an Internet pharmacy scheme. The pharmacist in charge, Rick Kloxin, was charged earlier this week.

Drew Griffin | BIO
CNN Investigative Correspondent

An unsuspecting house, from the outside, but inside it's home to 42 marijuana plants.

Drew Griffin
CNN Special Investigations Unit

If you just drove by this house, you would never know what’s inside that walled off garage. But under a stifling Florida sun, the garage is a cool 70 degrees, a constant flow of cool, nutrient-rich water flowing throughout the floor, and illuminated by golden glowing lamps whose radiance bounces off reflective aluminum walls. It is all designed to provide maximum growing potential for the 42 mature marijuana plants evenly spaced in this factory of pot.

After seeing this, my initial reaction is that the fight to eradicate marijuana in this country is hopeless. But does that mean we should give up and legalize pot?

For two weeks, knowing I was assigned to this story, I have been asking that question to the many prosecutors, DEA agents and police I’ve encountered. The overwhelming answer is no. There is no doubt, in the minds of these people who come in contact with users, growers, smugglers and junkies, that marijuana use is terrible for the individuals who engage in it. It is not just a pathway to stronger drugs; it is, in and of itself, a recipe for losers. People who call themselves ‘casual users,’ in the minds of law enforcement, are deluding themselves into believing they are not affected by this drug. They compare it to the drunk who believes he can actually drive better with a few drinks inside.

The bigger question is how to stop marijuana use. The DEA agents who raided this home, could raid similar homes everyday, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and still the marijuana would grow. Which is why there may need to be a huge strategic change in our so-called drug war. Anti-smoking campaigns work for tobacco. Why won’t they work for marijuana?

That should really be the focus of our efforts. We shouldn’t be laughing at the lame jokes from comedians talking about harmless weed; we shouldn’t allow rappers to glorify the wonders of living high. If nothing else, we should be telling our children that no matter what it is, putting smoke into your lungs is unhealthy, uncool and in the case of pot, a first step towards a life of a loser.

OK all you pot heads, let me hear it!

This 1995 file photo shows guards walking along the fence at the super-maximum-security federal prison in Florence, Colorado.

Drew Griffin | BIO
CNN Investigative Correspondent

No one is suggesting any of the bad guys being held in the Federal SuperMax Prison outside Florence, Colorado could ever escape. But then no one ever thought anyone being held in SuperMax could have been running criminal enterprises, either.

Still, federal prosecutors say it happened. SuperMax, according to a 2006 report by the Inspector General of the Bureau of Prisons, was "unable to effectively monitor the mail of terrorist and other high-risk inmates in order to detect and prevent terrorism and criminal activities."

Since we first aired our report about this in 2006, the Bureau of Prisons says the security gap, at least for terrorists, has been closed. We are told 100 percent of terrorist mail and 100 percent of terrorist phone calls are now being monitored.

But the fact that at one time, 100 percent of terrorist phone calls and terrorist mail was not being monitored maybe exactly why even his allies in the U.S. Senate want to make sure they know where President Obama wants to keep the Guantanamo Bay detainees, before they shut it down.

Program Note: Tune in tonight to hear Drew Griffin's full report tonight on AC360° at 10 p.m. ET.

Passengers wait in line for their names to be checked against terror watch lists.

Drew Griffin | BIO
CNN Investigative Correspondent

And I thought it was just me.

It was shortly after we did some pretty scathing reporting on the Federal Air Marshalls service that I found myself labeled a potential terrorist at airports. I never could connect the dots to say there was some sort of retribution, but the hassle of being stopped every time I flew (which is a lot) and asked to provide identification, even my mother’s maiden name, before being allowed to print a ticket, slowed me down and created quite an issue when I was running late.

Instead of suffering alone, I decided to bring you all along for the ride, exposing what I thought was a complete blundering of the terror watch list. My first report focusing on how I found myself on the terror list erupted into a flood of calls from people just like me. All walks of life, even a commercial airline pilot, we were all on that list. And every time I filed a report I got the same retort from the Department of Homeland Security: “Mr. Griffin, you are not on the list.”

Well guess what? Thousands of us are really on that list, and yes, thousands of us are on it by mistake. A just released Inspector general’s report lays it all out. And the report also reveals who’s not on it. I’ll share that with you tonight