E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSNEW YORK -- A Transportation Security Administration screener was arrested on charges he swiped iPads and other electronic devices from passengers' luggage at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport, authorities said.
Port Authority spokesman Steven Coleman said Wednesday that 32-year-old Sean Henry, of Brooklyn, was nabbed in a sting operation using decoy bags in cooperation with the TSA.
Coleman said Henry was arrested after leaving work carrying in his backpack two planted iPads and other electronic devices. Coleman said stolen items were also found in Henry's home.
Read more news on NBCNewYork.com
The 10-year veteran of the federal agency was arrested on charges of grand larceny and official misconduct.
Information on his lawyer was not immediately available.
Leave a Comment:
Who leaves their expensive electronis in their luggage to begin with?
Doesn't matter who leaves what in their bags ROTTEN MOM. The TSA is there
to scan bags, not steal.
Logical Thought - 1
Rotten Mom - 0
They stole my wife's pearl / gold earrings too.
The TSA is no better than the Terra-ists. None of them are worth a crap.
D Jahns,
That was completely uncalled for. Wake up on the wrong side of the bed or did chocolate drip into your ear while sleeping last night.
She was only posting her thoughts. No need to poke...
Uncalled for bully comment - 0
RottyMom - 1
I'm thinking that this guy has been there for 10 yrs. I wonder how many other items he stole before being caught. Has to be in the ten's of thousands of dollars man.
Also, it must've been awesome and actually fun for the guys who set up the sting then watched it all go down perfectly. Heh heh.
I'd love to be in their shoes and set up a-holes to fall for the bait. Like one of those bait cars that the cops set up with cameras and engine shut-off devices.
Creekdog:
I was thinking Jahns' comment was uncalled-for.Beat me to it. Thanks!
And yeah, I agree with you, had to have been awesome to see that sting work out so perfectly. Like the Bait Car shows, and my personal favorite--those catch-a-child-predator stings. No pity whatsoever.
.gm creekdog
The T.S.A. disclosed the Airport Screening Results
June 2012 Statistics On Airport Screening From The Department Of Homeland Security:
Terrorists Discovered
0
Transvestites
133
Hernias
1,485
Hemorrhoid Cases
3,172
Enlarged Prostates
8,249
Breast Implants
59,350
Natural Blondes
3
It was also discovered that 535 members of Congress had no balls.
I just thought you folks would like to know.
GM Creek Dog and Scooter
Spot on with your analysis and calling it on D Jahns! This entire Vine is designed with folks to present their viewpoint - some are funny,some are downright unkind, whereas others are quite knowledgeable and provide insight into the article - oh yeah, some do not nor ever had a clue, but are still entertaining.
RottyMom has a good point, especially when traveling thru NYC or Miami area airports!
r, your ability to compile accurate statistics is awesome - keep up the good work!
Scooter
Jahns has a point. If the iPads were stolen by a regular citizen then we would be talking about leaving things out in the open. The items were stolen by an employee of the airport checking bags.
People have to go through security and have to get their bags checked which means they have to be exposed to TSA employees. The employee could have taken anything from electronics to underwear. The job of the employee was to check bags, not steal. Chastising the passenger because of having the electronics in their luggage avoids the real issue.
Personally, I would avoid letting my expensive items leave my side as much as possible, and I would double check for them if I am in a public area. There's no telling what the passengers were doing in these cases.
Jahns could have done without the immature point counting at the end though.
Which they would have posted his address so I could do a walk through and get my things back.
Heard that two years after 9-11 to last year they added 40,000 TSA staff to the force. Apparently a few of them got jobs watching the other TSA agents. There have been very few reports of stings against TSA agents over the years. Management is aware they have a bunch of crooks in the ranks. They try to minimise reports so the commoners don't lose confidence in the system while trying to catch the crooks surreptitiously. The quiet effort may need to be upscaled because passengers still complain - a lot, that their stuff is being stolen. They release a report once in a great while to try to calm the commoners. It's a balancing act. Too much enforcement scares the commoners, to much unchecked theivery by their comrades is bad for business. It is not the passengers fault their stuff is getting stolen.
IAScooterTramp. Love your post.
@IA.ScooterTramp, that was the funniest post I have ever read here. Kudos!
gm jack, its an oldie i got a ton of em.
gm to all the usual suspects .... you know who you are
RottyMom, the answer is anyone who is still naive and uninformed enough to think government employees are all honest and only interested in doing their jobs ....... all five of them.
Creekdog, Amanda, etc...D Jahns statement is basically saying - who cares what they have in their luggage, it's TSA's job to screen it, not open it up and steal it...or what, if a woman is attacked, do you say - why would she go out dressed like that?
Some people may not want to take a carry-on or have some other reason to have electronics in their luggage. They should be able to without it being stolen by TSA.
GM Scooter, jack, Amanda & D. Bill, wherever you are!
Scooter, ha ha, yeah, goo one!
jack,Yeah, some people are simply rude and it seems those people look to put someone down for @!$%#'s & giggles.
You guys have a good day now, ya hear!? :-)
This is nothing compared to the over all cost of Time, Money, & Personal Freedoms these Clowns are costing us..... SHUT DOWN Tough@!$%#America ALREADY.....
Careful. Pizz them off and they'll plant cocaine on you (slightly kidding). More evidence that terrorists have effected your lives. The TSA was formed so rapidly and massively that a lot of background checks were omitted (I know a few people doing those jobs who should not be allowed). More than time for the QA Dept. look them over... and time to pocket a lot of your paranoia.
sleepinsadie:
I have no problem with the point of Jahns' post. Yes, TSA is there to screen, not steal, and taking anyone's property out of their luggage is absolutely unacceptable.
My problem was calling the original poster 'Rotten Mom' instead of using her screen name RottyMom (which, unless I miss my guess, indicates she thinks her Rottweilers are her children--as an animal shelter volunteer I love that attitude) and the childish point-counting at the end.
Creekdog:
You have a good day now too!
Scooter:
Did those numbers you got using 'calipers to measure the width of a fuzzy caterpillar's stripes under the full moon' give you that Powerball win you wanted? If it didn't, sorry for your luck--try next time under a waxing moon! and until then, stay cheerful and upbeat! I enjoy the humor in your posts and appreciate the smiles!
Rotty, So it was your kid huh.
With luggage going through an x-ray machine while looking for explosives it would be very easy to spot an ipad in a suit case and pull it off the line for "inspection".
amanda,
nope, guess i should have used my micrometer i didn't have a comparator, and really didn't think i would need to get down to .0001 i knew better then use my calipers though, my eyes just aren't what they once were. but on the bright side at least today they aren't red. ( hows yours Bill?)
please folks, learn his name, and never hire this man. He will learn the hard way....broke and homeless.
omg Amanda, get over it already...good grief. wow
lol ..... have you been talking to my wife again?
D Johns had it right...rude but right. We should not blame the victim. Its like saying, well silly me for having a big screen TV in my living room where anyone walking down the street can look right in the window and see it and steal it. And as for rudeness, I think I'm actually getting used to it. I've been called everything from moron to pervert when I've disagreed. I just say a little prayer and move on.
Corny scorekeeping - 3
DJahns, Creek Dog, truthbetold - 0
I guess this answers the question about who's watching the watchers - but now, who's watching the watchers of the watchers?
So far, this whole TSA and Patriot Act thing has been a big failure. We spend billions of tax dollars on all of this security each year at the loss of freedoms and human dignity and none of this has stopped terrorists, just people from bringing shaving cream and lip gloss onto planes. The underwear bomber and the shoe bomber both made it into the air on commercial planes and it was left to the paying passengers to bring them down. The bomber in Times Square was noticed and reported by a homeless retired veteran, not by any Homeland Security personnel.
Amanda - I understand your point on that, the clarification makes sense...I guess after years on messageboards, I don't even pay attention to some of that stuff anymore.
I applaud your shelter work, as does my dog in the picture (that's sadie...awake)
I hope this guy will get molested every day that he is behind bars just like we get molested by TSA every time we travel.
I don't feel safer because of the TSA. Do you?
Scooter tramp:
Better luck next time!
roadlesstraveled:
Okay, over it. in the grand scheme of things, this shouldn't even be a blip on the radar right?
sleepin sadie:
She's adorable. Boston terrier, right? She looks like she has a mom who adores her. Thanks for the appreciation, and I strongly recommend that if you have time, drop off a holiday present of some tennis balls or dog toys (even old/used ones) to your local shelter so the animals can have Christmas!
WCF:
Nope. Me neither. As TheKhanKubla said, the few times that a real threat was found it was the passengers on the plane who prevented disaster.
They are famous for ripping off your Medication, you have to watch the AH's.
The TSA goes through luggage even without seeing anything on the xray. I see a note in my checked baggage all the time, and there is nothing but pants and shirts inside.
If someone is going to be your bags, there needs to be someone watching these people or at least have cameras recording what they do. It doesn't cost hardly anything to do that.
I also can't imagine why anyone would leave expensive items in their check luggage, especially when you know TSA is going to open your luggage out of your sight. I wouldn't even trust friends or family members to rifle through my luggage, let alone TSA, if there is anything of value in it. Every thing of value is in my carry-on.
I live in Alabama (Roll Tide). In Scottsboro there is an outfit called Unclaimed Luggage that buys all the "lost" luggage from airlines, trains, buses and cruise ships. The managers here tell me that since the TSA started baggage screening, the luggage with cameras, electronics, jewelry, etc has plummeted.
One manager showed me how a screener will mark a suitcase. The one he showed me has a small "C" with a slit next to it. This means that there was a camera there when it was x-rayed. Then another TSA person or a baggage handler slits the suitcase and removes the valuable. He then changes the destination tag to an airport where there is no full-time baggage office. Hickory, NC is apparently a favorite. The pilfered bag will then sit there for weeks before being sold as "lost."
The TSA loves things like expensive perfume that it can detect by the bottle shape, as well as electronics and the ever-popular cash. For @rottenmom, one reason that people put their valuables in their checked luggage is because the TSA screener tells them that it is too big to be carried onboard and must be checked right then. Recently, this happened to my wife. When she removed her jewelrey and iPad, she was then told that it was okay that she could take it on board. Tell you anything?
Even "legitimately" confiscated items, such as scissors, pocket knives, and bottles of perfume are sold on eBay by TSA employees. The TSA web site says that they donate all such items to "charity" and all knives to the Boy Scouts. The BSA web site says that they do not accept donations from the TSA and no confiscated items have ever been offered to them. Here is what happens to things that the TSA confiscates: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m570.l1311&_nkw=tsa+knives&_sacat=0&_from=R40
The TSA agents keep the money for themselves. In my book this is grand larceny itself.
I have caught the TSA stealing on two occasions (out of scores of flights.) On both occasions, I was not allowed to complain at the time because of threats that it would cause me to miss my flight. The online complaint form only yielded the same form letter that informs me that they can take no action because the surveillance tapes for that location/date/time have been lost/misplaced/technically unavaiable.
Over 7,000 TSA employees have been fired for theft, but fewer than 20 have ever came to trial. The TSA claims that doing so would undermine the credibility of the TSA. If you will notice in this article, it is the Port Authority, not the TSA, who snared the thief.
I agree with Rotten Mom. You don't leave expensive valuables in your luggage. Leave them at home locked in a safe or take them in your carry on. Some people just make it easy for thugs to steal stuff. Get a clue...
Carla-3494131 - With weight and size restrictions by the airlines, sometimes it's just not possible to pack every one of your essential items in carry on. Sometimes, you have to pack things in checked luggage. TSA Employees are Federal Employees. You should not have to worry 'Am I going to have this stolen by packing it in my checked luggage.'
The only reason he had access to the stuff he stole was because of his position. No matter if he's stealing to pawn, to give as a gift to little Timmy, it irrelevant.
No one should have stuff stolen by an employee of the TSA.
I don't know why I'm surprised, once again, by people defending the crime/criminal and blaming the victims! I feel like all I ever post when I post is how so much of what we see, read and comment on shouldn't even be debated because the everyone's fingers should be pointing the lack of respect, integrity, compassion and just plain human decency that is at the core of so many of our issues these days. Why this man, who obviously lacked any of those character traits would get a pass from anyone is beyond me. Bottom line those items didn't belong to him, he works in a field designed to protect those flying and he STOLE. This one is straight up black and white for me.
You can't trust TSA as far as you can throw them. I think it is time to find another way to do what they do. I don't know about anyone else but haven't they invaded our lives enough? Any way just take a look at some of the people they have hired.
Obvious You keep them in your carry-on or ??? Too Bad they don't dye his hands permanently Bright Orange so everyone knows he's been nabbed.
Have you not flow in the past 30 years or ???
TSA paws through your carry-on bags at the security checkpoint, especially if there is anything electronic in it, and they are not always in sight.
This is just like a cop going bad....He should get double the punishment of regular citizens.
If you can't trust the law, then there is no law.
They are famous for ripping off your Medication, you have to watch the AH's.
Pop quiz: How many terrorists have these TSA goons caught since 9/11?
Hint: The answer is less than one.
Electrocute Him. Six IPad batteries connected in series ought to do it.....or, just make him eat the batteries....and where's his picture NBC? His mug should be plastered all over the Net..
Why do people put their valuables in their checked bags anyway? It's recommended you have them in your carry on.
Carolyn G
Does it matter? It's like saying who stores valuables in their house, it's recommended you have them in some safety deposit box at the bank, ridiculous question.
DKS
Terrorists = 0
Stolen goods = > than Zero
"Nice, attempt at an "end run"... the simple answer is, these people (baggage handlers, TSA , etc)... are supposed to have been tested, evaluated, investigated, given thorough Background checks, all meant to insure that, in their hands, your baggage is deemed to be as safe - if not safer - than if they were in your hands.
TSA agents, who are found to behave in criminal actions should prosecuted fully, under which ever jurisdiction the crime falls.
Further punishment might seem to be mandatory - but I'm not one of those advocating it. In my way of thinking, a crime is crime is a crime.
I would suggest that they be banned from working in the field .... until (or unless) they complete a program which delves into why they got into crime.
"Who's watching the watcher while the watcher's watching you?"
Evidently someone.
Satan. And he's smiling.
good point!
Me. I just flew to and from Orlando last month from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. We're #8 on the Top Ten List of Most Thieving TSA Agents so I knew I had to pay attention. I'm a security professional so I was watching them like a hawk while they watched me. All my stuff made it there and back just fine.
Just so people might not think that Curt is making this up, here is ABC News "Top 20 Airports for thefts by TSA employees": http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/top-20-airports-tsa-theft/story?id=17537887 You will notice3 from the list that SeaTac is in a three-way tie for 8th place.
Personally I have started marking my cash and valuable items with "snoop power" (shows up under UV light) and carrying a keychain black light. The powder is available online for under $5 and the keychain UV lights are only $2. It is my intention that if I catch a TSA agent with bright purple hands and I am missing anything, I will personally arrest and tranfer him to the LOCAL authorities. I will make any TSA person I catch a hobby for the rest of my life. I will track the person and disclose to employers, girlfriends, and anyone else who can appropriately "repay" the person. I will file a civil lawsuit against the person. Jail will be the safest place they can go.
Go Curt.
I occasionally travel with golf clubs. They are packed in a travel bag. One time I only attached the zippers with a twist tie (I was told this by the airline so they don't cut the lock(s) off) and they still snipped off the zippers with cutters. leaving the bag useless for future use but there is nobody to complain to. They seemingly have a free hand to do whatever they want.
Question: If bags have to be matched up to passengers, how come there are millions of "misplaced" bags travelling all over the world to meet up with their rightful owners. How do these bags make it on planes?? Are they specially identified? I somehow doubt it.
PS. I hate it when there is a slip of paper saying that somebody has gone through your things. I never carry anything remotely like suspicious stuff so why do they go through it in the first place. Answer??? Because they can!!
The TSA needs to do what some retail discount stores do - no backpacks, large purses, etc, can be brought with you into the building (or changing area, etc). When reports of theft in checked luggage started surfacing years ago, the TSA should have taken steps to tighten up security oversight of the employees. This is a failure of TSA management.
I travel frequently for business and I will say that I NEVER have anything in checked luggage that I would want to lose. You are more likely to have your luggage lost than to have something pilfered from it.
Blackbird
They go through your things because random checks of bags are required.
.
This is so sad. There are so many good TSA agents that are really trying to help and then a greedy clown like this taints them all.
Special Uniforms with the pockets sewn up so that they cant place anything in them
@Tricklyup,
They do have this rule for TSA agents already. But they form teams with airline baggage handlers, local security folks, and even flight crews. This way the TSA agent usually does not do the actual theft and does not actually take the item out of the terminal. There are some very good videos on youtube of TSA agents getting together with baggage handlers to split the loot.
The TSA maintains that any crackdown on theft from passengers would undermine the TSA's credibility. This is their story and they're sticking to it.
@ Blackbird - They are psychopathic maniacs. Use a twist tie or small cable tie. That's what the airlines will tell you, along with the special TSA approved locks that they can open. They will still gleefully cut the luggage open in the most destructive way they can just for their twisted sense of retribution. Your property isn't safe from them anywhere. These malevolent miscreants have all sorts of way of separating you from your property at the carry-on screening too. They will deliberately engineer the line at the body scanner so that it is very long but insist you put all your stuff through the carry-on x-ray right away. If you don't some big TSA goon will start making angry noises about you being a troublemaker. When you finally make it through the body scanner, you will have been separated from your carry-on for over a minute. In My case, the TSA thief took my $500 suede parka from the other end of the x-ray machine and put it with some passengers having their carry-on physically inspected by hand. It wasn't at the other end of the x-ray machine when I got there and when I asked where it was several times, they threatened to arrest me. When I finally saw it where the TSA thief had put it, I went and took it back. They threatened to arrest me for that. This is what happens when you create a sociopathic gang of criminals, give them TSA badges with absolute authority answerable to no one and who can completely ruin your life in an instant so that you will never fly again, never work again and will be labeled some kind of terrorist forever.
There are thieves everywhere. Maybe it time to put them on a caution list of "thief offenders". Then they would not be allowed to live close to anyone that owned anything.
I'm so disappointed: how could it be one of the God-like TSA screeners at JFK?
Maybe now I will get my beloved Kindle back. I sure loved it, until someone loved it more. I watch the screening process very carefully now. I make sure that I have removed all the metal so I don't set off the metal detector and get separated from my carry-on.
I wish all thieves hands were tattooed "THIEF"
Sorry, that is too good for this piece of filth. He should have his hands chopped off at the wrists!
Only mutilation? Why not stone them to death?!
Yes. When all else fails and all intelligent thought has died, do as the Taliban do.
I bet your vision of what America "should be" is a pretty dark and disturbing place.
Mutilation and hacking of flesh? REALLY?
Sick, brother, real sick.
Well Mr. Thanatos, leave me still has a picture of Mitt as a clown for his avatar so he is obviously disturbed in some way. The election is over Obama is in office, move along now OK.
What bothers me is anyone who can't go through the regular screening process is separated from their carry on bags. I have knee replacements so I fit into this category. I never pack anything of value in my checked luggage but now what about the carry on. It's a perfect scam for the TSA. You can't watch it and they'll say prove it was in the luggage.
Actually Mr. Thanatos .... that dates back to the Code of Hammurabi in 1772 BC, perhaps you should study history?
That was actually a pretty harsh code of law, thieves were more often than not simply put to death. This is the same place the phrase "an eye for an eye" comes from.
I had a Walkman stolen from my suitcase not long after TSA began opening bags. That was the last time I left anything like that in a suitcase. IPads and jewelry travel in my carry-on, and I take a look inside after they run it through the scanner. Anything I buy on vacation that can't fit in the carry-on gets shipped home via USPS.
I rather liked the middle eastern method of dealing with theives, cut off a hand, the dominate hand.. and if the clown is really dumb, work your way around the limbs, other hand, foot, pecker.. LOL that ought to do it..
@LadyCat,
I have a knee replacement and am in the same situation. But the one thing that I learned very early on was to volunteer nothing about my knee. And in many scores of flights, the TSA has never successfully identified my replacement knee as the source of their alarms. Never once. At a strategic time I usually just question whether their equipment has been calibrated recently. They usually accept that as an explanation. The process invariably causes me to be separated from my belongings as I am "intensively" searched "with particular attention to the groin and breast areas." I have had cash stolen from my belongings twice and now always carry it in my hand through the process.
I would point out that a replacement knee is about the same mass and composition as a Glock 9mm.
If something gets taken from your bag, you have zero recourse with the TSA. They take a complaint and file it somewhere. No wonder this guy thought he could get away with it.
Evidently someone did complain and was listened to since he was caught. Great job to the internal investigative branch. So sad that a few bad apples can taint a whole agency. I know many will disagree so go ahead but this can happen in any office, company, agency, etc. There are corrupt people and thieves everywhere.
I dunno, it took ten years to finally catch him?
It looks like regular police caught him with a sting operation. The TSA only cooperated with it.
He was caught in a sting operation. They tracked the items to his home and arrested him. They aren't going to track your iPad that comes up missing. You will be told to go online and fill out a form. Meanwhile your stolen iPad is being sold on eBay.
Perhaps manufactures can install an RFID chip internally so it can't be removed, then place RFID readers at doors, reads an ID and redlights, sirens, police all jump on them at once.. I'd go to Apple and have them do my IPAD and iphone, stick the rfid chip on your PC battery pack simple solution and relatively cheap
@TheConcernedCitizen,
I have an easier solution. You can buy on the internet (especially on eBay) a florescent powder that is kinda light tan in daylight but flouresces bright violet in UV light for about $5 for a lifetime supply. (You only use a tiny, tiny bit and put it directly on your valuables where it will do no harm.) You can buy a tiny keychain UV light for around $2. Before I go to the airport, I sprinkle tiny amounts on my cash and other valuables (even ones to be carried in my pocket.) If any turn up missing, I intend to go to the LOCAL authorities, NOT THE TSA, and report the theft and I have the UV light to be used in finding the culprit. It's a lot cheaper and a lot easier to do. I am no longer interested in deterring theft. That will not happen with the TSA. I am only interesting in catching TSA people and intend in all future instances to drive the individuals right into jail and raise so much ruckus that the TSA is forced to act.
This stuff will not stop until WE stop it. We are the ones al;lowing it to happen to us.
My first reaction is to get on the "Bash the TSA bandwagon", but after a sip of hot chocolate, reality returned. The TSA is an employer and like all other employers, you hope you hire the best, but.... you know how that goes.
Another black eye for the TSA PR wise. Reality is he is just another bad actor using his position of authority to game the system.
As much as the flying public dislikes the TSA, this is solely on the individual.
But they DON'T hope to hire the best. They hire who they can.
...and, this occurs very often with the TSA, it is not an isolated event. Sip some more and read some more.
@Okeeboy,
You need to do a lot more reading. Here are some starters:
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/top-20-airports-tsa-theft/story?id=17537887
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhXoIoNnIbs
How about how the TSA sells your confiscates stuff and the agents keep the money:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m570.l1311&_nkw=tsa+knives&_sacat=0&_from=R40
The TSA lies and says they donate these to the Boy Scouts. The BSA says No Way!
Here's one report from a Congresswoman from TN who lays out how inadequate and easily folled the cheapo TSA "background checks" are:
http://blackburn.house.gov/uploadedfiles/blackburn_tso_report.pdf
As Billy Shakespeare says, we have taken a viper to our breast. The TSA has never stopped a terrorist attack or caught a terrorist at the cost of billions. How does that make us safer? Is their whole approach to aggravate passengers so much that all terrorists would rather drive?
Okeeboy
You may want to replace that cup of hot chocolate with black coffee. Ah hell, just replace it with vadka.
You know those "Inspected By Employee #XXX" slips you find included with new product packaging when you open it?
The TSA inspectors should have to leave one of theirs with their employee ID on it in suitcases they inspect. Also no inspection should take place out of view, at minimum it should be videoed.
We've got to dump the security state hysteria that is costing us billions and not doing much to keep us safe in the first place.
wow i just agreed with culhealth.....strange day...
LOL ... me too. It didn't hurt as much as I thought it would.
LOL...Dudes, who knows?, maybe you'll even get to like it!
Gee Scooter, Bill and Culheath, I even agreed early on! A Pearl of Wisdom in that comment!
Spot on Culheath!
Culheath you got it spot on.
Since we are having a family reunion on this comment, where are JSinSD and Creek Dog? Late to the party? LOL
Hey Scoot, Denver, and Jax.
Hey Okeeboy,
How goes it? Amazing when great minds come up with the same conclusion! But then again, a broken clock is correct 2 times each day! LOL
I don't usually agree with Culheath on much and hardly ever comment "..nothing nice to say, then I close my mouth..." However, since your comments are in and near Scooter, Denver Bill's most times, I have been enjoying yours also!
Jack
culheath,
In theory (re: the videoing at a minimum), I agree with you. In practice, it would never happen. Not because of bureaucracy but because of cost. Think of how many bags get searched at a single gate in a single airport in one day. Now multiply that by the number of gates in ALL airports in the US. And then factor in that there'd have to be a retention policy to keep video for X days. The amount of disk storage required to store all of that electronically would be extremely costly, not to mention the recording equipment at every gate in every airport and the infrastructure to store it, even if just locally.
No one in the US would support the astronomical tax increase that would result from having to pay for that.
It's a great concept but it just isn't feasible.
Though I hear your point, I think you are over-estimating the storage requirements and the cost. We're talking security footage and not full 30 frame streaming/captured video. Businesses manage to keep security tapes for long periods and I don't see how TSA conducting their "business" is any different in terms of footage requirements. A two week storage period is all that would be needed since any thefts or whatever would be complained about in that period.
Recording equipment at every gate wouldn't be required, just an assigned camera which would be connected to a central storage set up.
Finally, massive data storage is much cheaper than it was even 5 years ago.
I'll have to check it into that cost now that you mention it though so thanks for raising the point.
@SabreDC,
I, too, have to agree with @Culheath. There is a federal law that currently requires "permanent retention" of all surveillance tapes from all cameras from all security checkpoints. If you file a complaint, the TSA will acknowledge the law. But I have reported two thefts from my belongings in passenger screening. (I have an artificial knee and that causes me to get "special attention" always well away from my belongings. I can carry my cash in my teeth, but they won't let me carry a camera that way.) In both cases I received a form letter telling me that the surveillance tapes for that "location/date/time" are "missing/lost/technically unavailable." That the form letter was generated from two different airports (JFK and ATL) over a year apart tells me that NO tapes are EVER available if a TSA agent is spotted taking something.
The TSA web site clearly states that the TSA considers any crackdown or pursuit of TSA agents stealing from passengers would "tend to undermine the credibility of the TSA."
All you have to do is go on eBay and google "TSA" and you will see how TSA agents sell your confiscated items for their personal profit.
you make to much sense..... this time. I hope they hear you. my underwear had a "inspected by # 87" tag on them.
You can't avoid such scum - but they get caught sooner or later.
Unfortunately, way too many of them either aren't caught or have already left office.
Dirt bag.
Scumbag he is, I had a long term employee steal something from me and when I reported it to the police he informed me you only catch them 10% of the time, so he was in fact telling me that my employee stole at least 9 time or more before I caught him. His trick was, while he took the trash out before closing everyday he would put what he wanted to steal in the bottom of the garbage bag and then after we locked up and I left he would go back to the dumpster and retrieve his ill gotten gains. I fired him and did not press charges as he had 6 kids and his wife worked and I felt sorry for her. I know this was not right but I could not punish her for her husbands mistakes and she was a very nice lady. Did I do it right? Who knows, I did tell his wife why I fired him.Go figure! Semper Fi!!
In my opinion you did the right and honorable thing sir.
Semper Fi indeed.
You did the right thing. All large businesses do that, and not for altruistic reasons. It is just the best way financially to remove the problem. Criminal charges (or even a civil suit) would cost money and time.
Most will just have the security people play the video for the employee and their union rep (if any). There is usually bait involved (marked money or property, pixie dust, etc.) Then they offer a chance to resign or face prosecution.
A report to the police will create a report (if needed for insurance, etc.), but is not likely to trigger prosecution if the victim does not press it.
semper fi, stealing cannot be allowed! knowing it's none of my business but courious about how much you were paying him?
The last TSA agent caught stealing was told to quit doing that. He didn't get a record on his police report (the TSA negotiated that away and the judge and DA agreed to it). He didn't get any time in jail or a fine. I don't even think he lost his job.
That's because he was splitting the loot with his TSA supervisor.
I am surprised that this sting was done in cooperation with the TSA. I thought for sure the TSA would say he was following procedure just like they do with everything else.
This is all so easy to understand... Micheal Chertoff was secretary of homeland insecurity. He advised congress to buy the scanners and implement the new screening standards. He was/is an investor in the company that makes them. He has profited by something like $30,000,000.00 since the investment. He is also a duel citizen Israeli, so just like the guy that owned the company that made the faulty body armor for our troops and the guy that made the faulty helmets before him he will simply run home to Israel if he is ever to be indited for something and be safe there protected by our tax dollars.
So, Chertoff is a thief, congress is full of thief's... These are all common known facts... SO WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE DO YOU THINK THESE THIEF'S WILL HIRE???
Kinda like Dick Cheney?
Why worry? Aren't they union now? Being a union member means being able to steal what you'd like. What's wrong with TSA agents stealing from passengers? They grope them, why not steal too. That's what unions are for, for goodness sake!
you are a retard
I don't think the TSA hires Caucasians if they do they are few and far between either way the TSA is a big FRAUD bunch of Overpaid, Overweight and worthless employees.
nice try on the racebait.....
I once saw 3 TSA employees having breakfast at the Marriot near Dulles. The were all
extremely obese. I'm thinking, these Fed employees are living large on my dime, the only
other place they could get a job is in Wal Mart. I think most of them are useless, and taking
us for for all we're worth.
Where do they get these guys ???
walmart...they are former greeters who couldn't cut it.
Well Scooter...
Those fallen ex-WalMart greeters HAVE to find new work somewhere don't they? LOL
Keep it up. Your better than the morning comics today!
This is breaking news....from 2 months ago. They keep recycling things here since they've run out of things to say about Romney, and Lord knows they aren't going to do a hard news story on Obama.
It IS MSNBC, or whatever they call themselves these days, after all.
TSA is a joke. I have a slumped shoulder from a cancer surgery 12 years ago. I can't lift my right arm above my head and my shoulder is misaligned. Every time..............Every time I fly I get pulled aside while someone trys to figure out why there is a spot on my scan-- it is always my shoulder. I appreciate the work they do- I truly do- but I have never had any of them pay the slightest bit of attention to me when I explain before hand that I will have an issue with the scan. If they took a look at me they would realize that I have a problem. No they just put us through like cattle in a ramp. Am I surprised that they are stealing crap- not at all.
While in Washington D.C. I had bought my 12 year old daughter some new clothes, packed them into our luggage with the tags still on them. Guess what? Got home and those clothes were gone....pathetic that someone that works there goes into someone's luggage and steals a 12 year old girl's clothes...
Yes, and it is also too bad that there is no way to know if the thief was the TSA screener before the flight, or the airline baggage handlers/contractors either before the flight, at the transfer point, or after the last flight.
It's sad that this guy who has a job would steal, people work hard for their things no need to steal. Is your job worth an ipad or anything for that matter. I don't feel sorry for him, good paying jobs with benefits are hard to come by. This guy and the few like him has made it hard for all TSA employees, didn't he see what happened to his fellow co-worker in Miami; duh it won't happen to me because I am smarter than that. WRONG!!! I never put exspensive items in my luggage, except for my Victoria Secret's panties. Any body can be tempted. IA ScooterTramp and Creek Dog love your post, you guys are funny and always make my day.
No wonder I feel safer when I fly. Another truly grateful government employee here to help us. How about some prison time for this loser?
Let's all pretend to be surprised. * eye roll * The TSA are all felons and child molesters.
Oh, wow, a TSA employee stole an iPad. Whoddathunkkit???
Is there some reason THEY can't be screened on their way out of work in exactly the same way WE are screened on the way into the plane? Scanner, metal detector, frisk.
"Hmm, you have 3 iPads you didn't have w/ you this morning."
"One for me, 2 for you nice gentlemen doing these important screenings."
"Everything seems to be in order here."
Lots of government employees are carefully screened when they leave work - and are subject to observation/surveillance while working. The Mint employees cannot enter or leave the building with a coin of any type. I retired from the Postal Service after 31 years, and know of one person forced to retire because they took cancelled stamps off the floor for a friend who collected stamps.
Seems like it would be simple to video all interactions between TSA workers and the passengers/property they search. Searching the employees when they leave the premises is certainly reasonable. One instance like this is justification for increased security throughout the agency. How to pay for the cost? Just put a higher surcharge on each ticket.
Ain't it lovely? While you're being sexually moles...ooops...'patted down',your posessions are being stolen....