TSA Worker: Theft From Luggage "Commonplace"
From ABC News -- "It was so easy" to steal that one day he walked out of a checkpoint with a Nintendo Wii in his hand, says a convicted TSA worker who admits to stealing more than $800K of passengers' stuff in the four years he worked for the agency:
Here, a TSA worker is caught after he took home a passenger's iPad. Megan Chuchmach, Randy Kreider, and Brian Ross write on ABCNews.com:
In the latest apparent case of what have been hundreds of thefts by TSA officers of passenger belongings, an iPad left behind at a security checkpoint in the Orlando airport was tracked as it moved 30 miles to the home of the TSA officer last seen handling it.Confronted two weeks later by ABC News, the TSA officer, Andy Ramirez, at first denied having the missing iPad, but ultimately turned it over after blaming his wife for taking it from the airport.
The iPad was one of ten purposely left behind at TSA checkpoints at major airports with a history of theft by government screeners, as part of an ABC News investigation into the TSA's ongoing problem with theft from passengers.
It seems the people who should be groped at airports are those leaving the building with all of our shit.
via @mpetrie98 and Maggie_McNeill
200K a year and he was sentenced to only three years????
Who did that judge think he was? A Wall Street executive?
Patrick at September 30, 2012 4:34 AM
Probably the prosecutors didn't know the extent of his activities, or could only prove a small portion of it. So they only caught him for $40K which they could prove or something like that.
Jim P. at September 30, 2012 6:12 AM
He was probably just charged for the stuff he still had that they could indentify where it came from.
nonegiven at September 30, 2012 7:58 AM
Well, there goes robbing banks because that's where the money is.
Dave B at September 30, 2012 8:42 AM
They rape the passengers AND their luggage!
mpetrie98 at September 30, 2012 9:15 AM
$800,000 worth of stuff and a unionized job with a government pension!
Forget going to college, kids. Join the TSA.
Conan the Grammarian at September 30, 2012 10:11 AM
Er, actually, this was going on long before the TSA. Ever since airlines became big business, maybe?
From 1992:
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1992-10-04/features/9203300753_1_baggage-handlers-luggage-dear-ann-landers
".....Not long ago, I saw something on the 'CBS Evening News' about looting by baggage handlers at airports. I could scarcely believe my eyes.
"I phoned Roberta Baskin, CBS Washington correspondent, and asked for a tape of that show. She sent it promptly.
"This is what appeared on that CBS newscast: A hidden video camera showed several baggage handlers rifling through bags at La Guardia, O`Hare, Miami and Dallas airports. The pilferers work in teams and can go through as many as 400 bags in eight hours. In Chicago, the FBI did a sting operation and arrested 16 baggage handlers. Eight of them had police records.
"In Dallas, a shuttle bus driver was arrested when he was caught trying to make off with a passenger`s bag. After he was arrested, the officers found 43 pieces of stolen luggage in his home.
"CBS reported that according to the airlines, fewer than 1 percent of the people whose bags have been looted file a complaint. Why? Because they probably believe the missing items were left at home, in the hotel or in the homes of friends they had been visiting. It does not occur to them that someone in the airport would go through their suitcases.
"Does it help to lock your luggage? Probably not. Looters have every imaginable duplicate key and can open a locked bag in a matter of seconds. Does it deter the pilferer if the suitcase has a strap or rope around it? Not really. The thief can get it off in nothing flat. If it is too difficult, he might decide to take the whole bag.
"So what`s a traveler to do? First-carry your luggage on the plane if possible. This often means you must travel lighter. Experienced travelers have learned it is smart to take half as many clothes and twice as much money.
"Never pack valuables (camera, cash, jewelry or irreplaceable photos) in a bag you plan to check. If something is missing and you are certain you packed it, notify the airline at once."
lenona at September 30, 2012 12:05 PM
Don't take money. Remember, that cash is obviously drug money, and is
" ours "
jonny at September 30, 2012 1:38 PM
Don't you know that you need TSA approved locks?
That means they can open your luggage on a whim.
Jim P. at September 30, 2012 2:13 PM
I really don't fly any more. No reason to, and the whole process is as miserable as possible. However, when I did, I never put anything valuable in my luggage, and when I knew I had something valuable that I had to check, I made sure that I didnt have a stop on the route where I changed planes. The baggage handlers and the TSA agents know, theft is more likely to be detected at the beginning or the end of a trip. It is much easier to steal during the transfer process.
However, the availability of electronic tags and sting operations may lead to baggage theft becoming a risky business.
Isab at October 1, 2012 7:13 PM
I use zip ties to 'lock' my luggage. Yes anyone can open them, but I know if someone has opened my bag. I bought a small container of them bright colors several years ago and am still on the first batch.
DebbieCT at October 3, 2012 12:01 PM
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