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Airport security chief placed on leave pending investigation
By DAVID B. CARUSO
Associated Press Writer
December 31, 2003, 3:00 PM EST
PHILADELPHIA -- The federal security director at Philadelphia International Airport has been placed on leave while authorities investigate an undisclosed allegation of wrongdoing, his lawyers said.
James Golden, a former top police executive in Philadelphia and Trenton, N.J., has been on a paid leave since Dec. 12, according to Transportation Security Administration, which oversees security screeners at airports plus the marshals who serve as undercover guards on some flights.
TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis declined to give a reason for Golden's suspension, but the agency released a statement saying it would "make a determination on Mr. Golden's status in the coming weeks."
A law firm representing Golden issued a letter Wednesday confirming that a review of "allegations of wrongdoing" was under way.
In the statement, Golden denied a broadcast report that the TSA had decided to fire him for practices that included hiring and promoting his son-in-law and hiring a former exotic dancer to supervise screeners at the airport.
"Director Golden has fully and categorically denied any allegation of any policy violation in connection with TSA's hiring of his son-in-law," the statement said. "The allegation that his son-in-law has been promoted to any high-level management position is also entirely false and unsubstantiated by any record."
Golden's lawyer, Andrew Bayne, said the director was also unaware of any screening supervisor at the airport who had formerly worked as an exotic dancer.
"It is completely false, to our knowledge," he said.
Bayne declined to discuss what job Golden's son-in-law held at the agency or the circumstances of his hiring.
He said Golden expected to be exonerated and returned to his job shortly.
TSA officials said Golden's top deputy, William Ross, is serving as his interim replacement.
Golden was named security director at Philadelphia International in July 2002. He was previously Trenton's first civilian police director, and before that a police chief in Saginaw, Mich. Golden started his career in law enforcement as a Philadelphia police officer and rose through the department's ranks to become an executive in charge of human resources.
As recently as May, Golden told The Philadelphia Inquirer that he was content in his new job at the TSA and had no plans to leave. At the time, security directors at several of the nation's biggest airports had recently quit their jobs after less than a year.
Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press
By DAVID B. CARUSO
Associated Press Writer
December 31, 2003, 3:00 PM EST
PHILADELPHIA -- The federal security director at Philadelphia International Airport has been placed on leave while authorities investigate an undisclosed allegation of wrongdoing, his lawyers said.
James Golden, a former top police executive in Philadelphia and Trenton, N.J., has been on a paid leave since Dec. 12, according to Transportation Security Administration, which oversees security screeners at airports plus the marshals who serve as undercover guards on some flights.
TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis declined to give a reason for Golden's suspension, but the agency released a statement saying it would "make a determination on Mr. Golden's status in the coming weeks."
A law firm representing Golden issued a letter Wednesday confirming that a review of "allegations of wrongdoing" was under way.
In the statement, Golden denied a broadcast report that the TSA had decided to fire him for practices that included hiring and promoting his son-in-law and hiring a former exotic dancer to supervise screeners at the airport.
"Director Golden has fully and categorically denied any allegation of any policy violation in connection with TSA's hiring of his son-in-law," the statement said. "The allegation that his son-in-law has been promoted to any high-level management position is also entirely false and unsubstantiated by any record."
Golden's lawyer, Andrew Bayne, said the director was also unaware of any screening supervisor at the airport who had formerly worked as an exotic dancer.
"It is completely false, to our knowledge," he said.
Bayne declined to discuss what job Golden's son-in-law held at the agency or the circumstances of his hiring.
He said Golden expected to be exonerated and returned to his job shortly.
TSA officials said Golden's top deputy, William Ross, is serving as his interim replacement.
Golden was named security director at Philadelphia International in July 2002. He was previously Trenton's first civilian police director, and before that a police chief in Saginaw, Mich. Golden started his career in law enforcement as a Philadelphia police officer and rose through the department's ranks to become an executive in charge of human resources.
As recently as May, Golden told The Philadelphia Inquirer that he was content in his new job at the TSA and had no plans to leave. At the time, security directors at several of the nation's biggest airports had recently quit their jobs after less than a year.
Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press
