Sonia Puopolo

**Sonia Morales Puopolo** was a former ballet dancer and a nationwide philanthropist. She was born and raised in Puerto Rico and moved to Boston as a young woman in her late teens when she met her husband Dominic J. Puopolo, Sr. at a Catholic School dance. She was most importantly a wonderful mother of three adult children; Dominic Jr., Mark Anthony, and Sonia "Tita" Puopolo and a loyal wife and business partner to her husband Dominic J. Puopolo, Sr for 38 years.

Mrs. Puopolo's tireless work for charities, such as the Miami City Ballet, and other charitable causes such as Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital Breast Cancer Center, demostrated her love and respect for her life and the life of others. "Mrs. Puopolo was a giver in life and not a taker" as was quoted by her son Dominic J. Puopolo, Jr. after the conviction of one of the terrorists who killed his mother.

Mrs. Puopolo died at age 58 while seated in the first class cabin onboard American Airlines Flight 11 during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. She witnessed and was subjugated to extreme violence the hijackers comitted in order to hijack American Airlines 11.

She alternated every six months living in Boston, Massachusetts and Miami, Florida.

Since then her adult children have followed in their mother's legacy. They have turned the horror of 9/11 and their mother's death as a call to action to achieve through education and through the pursuit of justice to possibly provide a way for others to avoid suffering their personal loss at the hands of terrorists.

Sonia "Tita" Puopolo and Dominic J. Puopolo, Jr. have both each, in their own way, contributed to seeing their mother's legacy fulfilled and memory honored.

Her oldest son Dominic J. Puopolo, Jr. since September 11, 2001 has pursued justice for his mother's death in various forms. Most significantly Dominic Jr. moved to Hamburg, Germany in August 2004 to assist, as allowed under German law, in the terrorist retrial of Mounir El-Motassadeq for one year.

Dominic Jr. successfully worked alongside German federal prosecutors along with his German legal team of Christian Weise, RA and Andreas Schulz, RA to successfully argue, before a tribunal of five German federal justices to convict Motassadeq in the year long retrial.

Motassadeq, a co-conspirator in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, admitted jihadist, and close friend of the 9/11 suicide pilot Atta (who killed Sonia Puopolo along with her fellow passengers on American Airlines Flight 11) wired monies from Germany to Florida. These monies in large part were to pay for flight school training for three of the four 9/11 suicide hijacker pilots.

Dominic Jr. previously went to Hamburg, Germany to testify during the 9/11 terrorist trial of Abdelghani Mzoudi on December 4, 2003. Mzoudi was acquitted by the German Supreme Court in July 2005, but immediately expelled from Germany back to his native Morocco.

Motassadeq was subsequently convicted of membership in a terrorist organization one month later on August 19, 2005 in Hamburg. He received an immediate sentence of 7 years to be served in a German federal prison from presiding Judge Ernst Schudt. Dominic Jr. most recently attended the final day of the 9/11 terrorist trial of United States v. Zacarias Moussaoui.

This for the sentencing elgibility phase of the convicted terrorist's trial during Spring 2006. He was also present in the courtroom for Moussaoui's guilty plea hearing on April 22, 2005. This has brought Dominic Jr's involvement and participation to a total of three 9/11 terrorist criminal trials in order justice was afforded his mother Sonia and all those innocently lost on September 11, 2001.

Sonia Morales Puopolo's daughter Sonia "Tita" Puopolo recently visited Saudi Arabia on the Saudi American Exchange program to better understand the country that some of the hijackers hailed from and to bridge the gap between the peoples of Saudi Arabia and America in order to prevent a recurrence of the horrific events of 9/11 borne of hatred and intolerance.