Er,. thanks for not stealing my film ;)

Maybe I *will* just have everything shipped FedEx!

JJ

---------------------

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpa...5577204420.xml

9 screeners booked in thefts from bags
Some are caught on video, records show
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
By Michelle Hunter
East Jefferson bureau

When Annette MacDonald checked her bags at Louis Armstrong
International Airport for a flight to Houston on May 11, they
contained a watch, three bracelets and a diamond necklace inside a
black velvet box. After she retrieved the bags later that day in
Houston, she discovered the box and the jewelry, valued at $3,000,
were gone.

She suspected her valuables were stolen at Armstrong during the
security screening process. And now that nine federal screeners there
have been arrested on theft-related charges, she's sure of it.

"Hallelujah!" MacDonald, a 37-year-old Mandeville resident, said
Tuesday. "The government takes half my paycheck in taxes and I'm
paying these guys' salaries, and they're stealing from me."

The arrests on Monday and Tuesday represent one of the largest
roundups of Transportation Security Administration employees in the
country this year. They focus new attention on the federal agency that
was created in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and
that now finds its employees accused of victimizing the very people
they are supposed to protect.

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office identified the suspects as
Robert Amos, 45, and Hebert Zeno, 24, of Marrero; Donald Atkinson, 42,
Jaytee Sibley Jr., 33, Bernard Gill, 32, and Manya Daughtry, 42, of
New Orleans; Brad Townsend, 21, of Metairie; Nicole Smith, 23, of St.
Rose; and Gregory Carmen, 36, of Baton Rouge.

Sheriff's Office arrest records show the investigation began when a
Transportation Security Administration employee came forward in May
and told investigators that she witnessed some of the thefts. She said
she saw the screeners dividing up the spoils in an employee parking
lot at the airport, according to the records.

At least four of the screeners were allegedly caught on surveillance
cameras taking property out of bags. Carmen was seen removing a laptop
computer from the conveyor belt of a screening machine and walking off
with it, according to the arrest records. Others seen filching on
camera were Atkinson, Sibley and Zeno, who also was accused of
tampering with some of the surveillance cameras, according to the
records.

In a statement to investigators, Townsend admitted pilfering property
from airline passengers' luggage, accepting stolen money and buying
stolen goods from other screeners, the records said. A search of Amos'
home turned up a large amount of purloined items, the records said.

The Sheriff's Office would not comment on the case.

Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Andrea McCauley
said the screeners have been suspended pending the outcome of the
criminal cases, but she would not discuss details of the
investigation.

"Because we are the employing agency, we're not releasing any
information," McCauley said. "The investigation is ongoing. TSA has a
zero tolerance policy for any criminal activity."

Congress created the Transportation Security Administration less than
two months after teams of terrorists using box cutters commandeered
four jets and crashed them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon
and a field in Pennsylvania. President Bush signed the law on Nov. 19,
2001.

The agency took control of security at commercial airports in the
United States on Feb. 17, 2002. It now has a budget of $4.4 billion
and employs about 45,000 people.

Front-line screeners check passengers, baggage and cargo at airports.
They make $23,600 to $35,400 per year, depending on their experience
and where they are assigned. The New Orleans airport had 384 screeners
in May, with plans to lose 33 positions through attrition as part of a
national slimming of the federal agency.

Steve Hansen, a spokesman for the congressional committee that
oversees airports, said that because of the sensitive nature of the
work, Congress wrote the aviation security law with a focus on weeding
out questionable employees.

"There were what we considered strong provisions in the statute for
background checks to try to make sure the highest quality people were
hired," Hansen said. But he added, "When you are talking about
workforce in excess of 40,000 people, it is not surprising that some
bad eggs slip through."

Indeed, while arrests of airport screeners are unusual, they are not
without precedent. In the past six months:

-- A screener at Denver International Airport was charged with
stealing $700 from a passenger's carry-on purse.

-- Four screeners at Detroit Metro Airport were charged with stealing
laptop computers, digital cameras and other electronic equipment from
checked baggage on international flights.

-- A screener at Indianapolis International Airport was charged with
stealing $1,000 from a passenger's checked baggage.

McCauley said the Transportation Security Administration conducts
criminal background checks on all employees. Although certain
misdemeanor offenses won't disqualify a job applicant, she said, the
agency never hires anyone with a history of felonies or theft charges.

"We do want people to feel comfortable and confident when they fly,"
she said.

To discourage screeners from rifling through passengers' luggage for
personal gain, supervisors watch their work, she said.

But even when screeners are caught red-handed, convicting them is not
a cinch.

Last year, federal prosecutors had videotape of a screener swiping
compact discs from luggage at Miami International Airport. But when
the screener's defense attorney sought to question a key
Transportation Security Administration witness in open court about
overall security procedures and screener training, the government
dropped the charges. The agency was afraid terrorists could learn how
it secures airports, Cox News Service reported.

MacDonald said she doesn't know whether the Armstrong screeners
arrested this week were responsible for taking her watch, bracelets
and necklace, but she plans to call the Sheriff's Office to find out.
It's not so much the monetary value of the pieces but their
sentimental value, she said.

MacDonald recalled what happened after she opened her luggage May 11
in Houston.

"I cried for two weeks. I really hope they got one of those idiots who
took my jewelry."

.. . . . . . .

Bill Walsh and Mark Waller contributed to this report.

Michelle Hunter can be reached at or (504)
883-7054.

In article ,
wrote:

Maybe I *will* just have everything shipped FedEx!

JJ

---------------------


http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpa...87975577204420.
xml

9 screeners booked in thefts from bags
Some are caught on video, records show
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
By Michelle Hunter
East Jefferson bureau

When Annette MacDonald checked her bags at Louis Armstrong
International Airport for a flight to Houston on May 11, they
contained a watch, three bracelets and a diamond necklace inside a
black velvet box. After she retrieved the bags later that day in
Houston, she discovered the box and the jewelry, valued at $3,000,
were gone.

She suspected her valuables were stolen at Armstrong during the
security screening process. And now that nine federal screeners there
have been arrested on theft-related charges, she's sure of it.

"Hallelujah!" MacDonald, a 37-year-old Mandeville resident, said
Tuesday. "The government takes half my paycheck in taxes and I'm
paying these guys' salaries, and they're stealing from me."

The arrests on Monday and Tuesday represent one of the largest
roundups of Transportation Security Administration employees in the
country this year. They focus new attention on the federal agency that
was created in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and
that now finds its employees accused of victimizing the very people
they are supposed to protect.

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office identified the suspects as
Robert Amos, 45, and Hebert Zeno, 24, of Marrero; Donald Atkinson, 42,
Jaytee Sibley Jr., 33, Bernard Gill, 32, and Manya Daughtry, 42, of
New Orleans; Brad Townsend, 21, of Metairie; Nicole Smith, 23, of St.
Rose; and Gregory Carmen, 36, of Baton Rouge.

Sheriff's Office arrest records show the investigation began when a
Transportation Security Administration employee came forward in May
and told investigators that she witnessed some of the thefts. She said
she saw the screeners dividing up the spoils in an employee parking
lot at the airport, according to the records.

At least four of the screeners were allegedly caught on surveillance
cameras taking property out of bags. Carmen was seen removing a laptop
computer from the conveyor belt of a screening machine and walking off
with it, according to the arrest records. Others seen filching on
camera were Atkinson, Sibley and Zeno, who also was accused of
tampering with some of the surveillance cameras, according to the
records.

In a statement to investigators, Townsend admitted pilfering property
from airline passengers' luggage, accepting stolen money and buying
stolen goods from other screeners, the records said. A search of Amos'
home turned up a large amount of purloined items, the records said.

The Sheriff's Office would not comment on the case.

Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Andrea McCauley
said the screeners have been suspended pending the outcome of the
criminal cases, but she would not discuss details of the
investigation.

"Because we are the employing agency, we're not releasing any
information," McCauley said. "The investigation is ongoing. TSA has a
zero tolerance policy for any criminal activity."

Congress created the Transportation Security Administration less than
two months after teams of terrorists using box cutters commandeered
four jets and crashed them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon
and a field in Pennsylvania. President Bush signed the law on Nov. 19,
2001.

The agency took control of security at commercial airports in the
United States on Feb. 17, 2002. It now has a budget of $4.4 billion
and employs about 45,000 people.

Front-line screeners check passengers, baggage and cargo at airports.
They make $23,600 to $35,400 per year, depending on their experience
and where they are assigned. The New Orleans airport had 384 screeners
in May, with plans to lose 33 positions through attrition as part of a
national slimming of the federal agency.

Steve Hansen, a spokesman for the congressional committee that
oversees airports, said that because of the sensitive nature of the
work, Congress wrote the aviation security law with a focus on weeding
out questionable employees.

"There were what we considered strong provisions in the statute for
background checks to try to make sure the highest quality people were
hired," Hansen said. But he added, "When you are talking about
workforce in excess of 40,000 people, it is not surprising that some
bad eggs slip through."

Indeed, while arrests of airport screeners are unusual, they are not
without precedent. In the past six months:

-- A screener at Denver International Airport was charged with
stealing $700 from a passenger's carry-on purse.

-- Four screeners at Detroit Metro Airport were charged with stealing
laptop computers, digital cameras and other electronic equipment from
checked baggage on international flights.

-- A screener at Indianapolis International Airport was charged with
stealing $1,000 from a passenger's checked baggage.

McCauley said the Transportation Security Administration conducts
criminal background checks on all employees. Although certain
misdemeanor offenses won't disqualify a job applicant, she said, the
agency never hires anyone with a history of felonies or theft charges.

"We do want people to feel comfortable and confident when they fly,"
she said.

To discourage screeners from rifling through passengers' luggage for
personal gain, supervisors watch their work, she said.

But even when screeners are caught red-handed, convicting them is not
a cinch.

Last year, federal prosecutors had videotape of a screener swiping
compact discs from luggage at Miami International Airport. But when
the screener's defense attorney sought to question a key
Transportation Security Administration witness in open court about
overall security procedures and screener training, the government
dropped the charges. The agency was afraid terrorists could learn how
it secures airports, Cox News Service reported.

MacDonald said she doesn't know whether the Armstrong screeners
arrested this week were responsible for taking her watch, bracelets
and necklace, but she plans to call the Sheriff's Office to find out.
It's not so much the monetary value of the pieces but their
sentimental value, she said.

MacDonald recalled what happened after she opened her luggage May 11
in Houston.

"I cried for two weeks. I really hope they got one of those idiots who
took my jewelry."

. . . . . . .

Bill Walsh and Mark Waller contributed to this report.

Michelle Hunter can be reached at or (504)
883-7054.


And she CHECKED all that **** instead of putting it in her carryon????
Pullleaze