[font=verdana, arial, helvetica]Fed boss at LaG probed in luggage-loot racket
By BOB PORT
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
A security screener at LaGuardia Airport
Prosecutors and Port Authority police are probing whether a federal supervisor at LaGuardia's Continental Airlines terminal may have allowed a conspiracy by Homeland Security screeners to routinely harvest Rolex watches, Gucci bags and Dell laptops from checked luggage.
And the case may be the tip of a nationwide iceberg.
This month, Homeland Security announced it will pay $1.6 million to settle claims filed since late 2001 by 17,600 angry air travelers - an average of $110 per person - half for goods damaged, but half for goods missing.
Another 8,000 claims are pending.
Last month, three bag screeners at LaGuardia and one at JFK were arrested after Continental and American Airlines sought law enforcement help when each airline detected spikes in customer complaints.
The victims included TV soap opera star Susan Lucci and comedians Chevy Chase and Joan Rivers.
In April, the airlines bought video surveillance cameras to let cops snoop on federal workers hired to examine checked luggage for explosives.
Detectives watched as several uniformed Transportation Security Administration screeners used their private work area "like a candy store," as one source put it.
To cover their tracks, screeners switched tags on bags from which they stole with tags on untouched bags, sending suitcases jetting to wrong airports in pairs. They even swapped one tag from a baby's travel crib, sending it to O'Hare in Chicago for a day while mother and child spent a restless night in Mexico.
Cameras at LaGuardia recorded one screener handing off goods from a bag to a supervisor, "who then placed the item into the employee cabinet area." Later, the worker retrieved it, court records say.
That supervisor, not caught red-handed himself, wasn't charged. But the four defendants recently waived their right to a grand jury indictment, suggesting they may be negotiating a deal to testify against bigger fish.
"What is particularly troubling to me is that those responsible for ensuring the safety and security of the airlines would be engaged in pilfering the luggage of airline passengers," Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said last week in an interview with the Daily News. "If they're busy looking for items to steal instead of checking for explosives, what does that say?"
Brown said his investigation is continuing.
The TSA, which was hastily created after the September 2001 terror attacks, vigorously defended the vast bulk of its labor force. Spokeswoman Ann Davis labeled TSA's jailbird baggage screeners as "a handful of individuals who have made a bad choice."
Prosecutors and Port Authority cops were surprised to discover that the TSA in New York was allowing screeners to take personal luggage, even duffel bags, into their work area, making it easy for a thief to cart off a hefty haul.
That has since stopped.
And when search warrants were executed at the homes of the four screeners, police were stunned at a department store of goodies amassed in an operation that had clearly spanned many months. Among other items they found were laptops galore, computer projectors, cuff links, designer clothes and gold chains.
One defendant liked to collect flashlights. Another had a passion for books. The recovered loot covered 12 large folding tables.
Another law enforcement source said some of the screeners gave stolen items away as gifts. One donated items to a church.
"It was extraordinary," Brown remarked. "There was so much these guys were just incapable of fencing the property fast enough."
Arrested at JFK was Clarence Henry, 51, of Brooklyn. Busted at LaGuardia were Nelson Caraballo, 41, of Brooklyn; Jaime Maldonado, 42, of the Bronx, and Carmita Williams, 42, of Brooklyn.
Federal bag screeners cannot be offered a job until they pass a fingerprint-based FBI criminal history check. But that check goes back just 10 years and looks only for 28 felony convictions enumerated by lawmakers.
Two of New York's four busted screeners have rap sheets, which the current federal criminal check ignores.
Henry was convicted of shoplifting in Delaware in 1989, a source said. Maldonado was charged with drug possession in Brooklyn in 1989 but had his records sealed after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct, according to records.
"Clearly a better job needs to be done," Brown told The News. "A mere fingerprint check is inadequate. I think you need comprehensive background checks."
Tips for travelers
-You are allowed to lock your luggage. Many travelers still believe federal rules prohibit locks on checked bags. That was true in the months after 9/11. It's not true now.
-Federal screeners are permitted to open bags only if their computerized X-ray scanners detect material that could hide a bomb or if they see certain suspect shapes that could hide explosives, such as electronic gear.
-Some items are guaranteed to trigger a search, such as metal tins and dense foods, especially hams, cheeses and even jars of peanut butter. They will be swabbed for explosive detection. Put them in a separate bag.
-Buy a new $10 Travel Sentry lock, approved by the Transportation Security Administration, or a $15 Travel Sentry locking strap for your bag. Federal screeners have master keys, which are illegal to duplicate. If your unapproved lock must be broken, it could invite other baggage handlers to open it, knowing federal bag screeners likely would be blamed.
-Don't put expensive watches, jewelry or laptop computers in checked bags. Take them in carry-on luggage.
-Homeland Security checks only bags leaving a U.S. airport. If you are a victim of theft leaving a foreign airport, don't blame the Transportation Security Administration.[/font]
By BOB PORT
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
A security screener at LaGuardia Airport
Prosecutors and Port Authority police are probing whether a federal supervisor at LaGuardia's Continental Airlines terminal may have allowed a conspiracy by Homeland Security screeners to routinely harvest Rolex watches, Gucci bags and Dell laptops from checked luggage.
And the case may be the tip of a nationwide iceberg.
This month, Homeland Security announced it will pay $1.6 million to settle claims filed since late 2001 by 17,600 angry air travelers - an average of $110 per person - half for goods damaged, but half for goods missing.
Another 8,000 claims are pending.
Last month, three bag screeners at LaGuardia and one at JFK were arrested after Continental and American Airlines sought law enforcement help when each airline detected spikes in customer complaints.
The victims included TV soap opera star Susan Lucci and comedians Chevy Chase and Joan Rivers.
In April, the airlines bought video surveillance cameras to let cops snoop on federal workers hired to examine checked luggage for explosives.
Detectives watched as several uniformed Transportation Security Administration screeners used their private work area "like a candy store," as one source put it.
To cover their tracks, screeners switched tags on bags from which they stole with tags on untouched bags, sending suitcases jetting to wrong airports in pairs. They even swapped one tag from a baby's travel crib, sending it to O'Hare in Chicago for a day while mother and child spent a restless night in Mexico.
Cameras at LaGuardia recorded one screener handing off goods from a bag to a supervisor, "who then placed the item into the employee cabinet area." Later, the worker retrieved it, court records say.
That supervisor, not caught red-handed himself, wasn't charged. But the four defendants recently waived their right to a grand jury indictment, suggesting they may be negotiating a deal to testify against bigger fish.
"What is particularly troubling to me is that those responsible for ensuring the safety and security of the airlines would be engaged in pilfering the luggage of airline passengers," Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said last week in an interview with the Daily News. "If they're busy looking for items to steal instead of checking for explosives, what does that say?"
Brown said his investigation is continuing.
The TSA, which was hastily created after the September 2001 terror attacks, vigorously defended the vast bulk of its labor force. Spokeswoman Ann Davis labeled TSA's jailbird baggage screeners as "a handful of individuals who have made a bad choice."
Prosecutors and Port Authority cops were surprised to discover that the TSA in New York was allowing screeners to take personal luggage, even duffel bags, into their work area, making it easy for a thief to cart off a hefty haul.
That has since stopped.
And when search warrants were executed at the homes of the four screeners, police were stunned at a department store of goodies amassed in an operation that had clearly spanned many months. Among other items they found were laptops galore, computer projectors, cuff links, designer clothes and gold chains.
One defendant liked to collect flashlights. Another had a passion for books. The recovered loot covered 12 large folding tables.
Another law enforcement source said some of the screeners gave stolen items away as gifts. One donated items to a church.
"It was extraordinary," Brown remarked. "There was so much these guys were just incapable of fencing the property fast enough."
Arrested at JFK was Clarence Henry, 51, of Brooklyn. Busted at LaGuardia were Nelson Caraballo, 41, of Brooklyn; Jaime Maldonado, 42, of the Bronx, and Carmita Williams, 42, of Brooklyn.
Federal bag screeners cannot be offered a job until they pass a fingerprint-based FBI criminal history check. But that check goes back just 10 years and looks only for 28 felony convictions enumerated by lawmakers.
Two of New York's four busted screeners have rap sheets, which the current federal criminal check ignores.
Henry was convicted of shoplifting in Delaware in 1989, a source said. Maldonado was charged with drug possession in Brooklyn in 1989 but had his records sealed after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct, according to records.
"Clearly a better job needs to be done," Brown told The News. "A mere fingerprint check is inadequate. I think you need comprehensive background checks."
Tips for travelers
-You are allowed to lock your luggage. Many travelers still believe federal rules prohibit locks on checked bags. That was true in the months after 9/11. It's not true now.
-Federal screeners are permitted to open bags only if their computerized X-ray scanners detect material that could hide a bomb or if they see certain suspect shapes that could hide explosives, such as electronic gear.
-Some items are guaranteed to trigger a search, such as metal tins and dense foods, especially hams, cheeses and even jars of peanut butter. They will be swabbed for explosive detection. Put them in a separate bag.
-Buy a new $10 Travel Sentry lock, approved by the Transportation Security Administration, or a $15 Travel Sentry locking strap for your bag. Federal screeners have master keys, which are illegal to duplicate. If your unapproved lock must be broken, it could invite other baggage handlers to open it, knowing federal bag screeners likely would be blamed.
-Don't put expensive watches, jewelry or laptop computers in checked bags. Take them in carry-on luggage.
-Homeland Security checks only bags leaving a U.S. airport. If you are a victim of theft leaving a foreign airport, don't blame the Transportation Security Administration.[/font]
TC
