Fort Lauderdale airport screeners charged with stealing from baggage

I hope the penalty for so called trusted employees is stronger than a common
thief.

--
Greg
lid
(Remove the '.invalid' twice to send Email)


"Lee Lindquist" wrote in message
...

FORT LAUDERDALE -- One luggage screener said he bought nearly $700 in
gasoline with a credit card taken from a passenger's bag. Another said
he paid off his cell phone bill with cash he took from a suitcase.

Here's a link to the whole story:


http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/loc...home-headlines


This part cracked me up:

"...Stover declined to say whether the men still work for the agency, but
said their conduct
should not reflect negatively on other screeners."

Gee, if you're not going to fire them, THAT certainly reflects
negatively on the whole group.


"The suspects were being held at the Federal Detention Center in Miami
and
will be arraigned in Fort Lauderdale federal court at 11 a.m. today."

I guess they'll be a little late for work today.

--
- Lee

Subject: Fort Lauderdale airport screeners charged with stealing from baggage

What really amazes me are the people who pack things like cash.. in a
suitcase....and of course, people who don't watch these TSA people like a hawk
during the carryon bag screenings.

Babette

On 30 Jun 2004 15:00:45 GMT, (OcnGypZ) wrote:

What really amazes me are the people who pack things like cash.. in a
suitcase....and of course, people who don't watch these TSA people like a hawk
during the carryon bag screenings.

Hi Babette,

I agree with you about what folks pack. The stories that I have read
indicated that this was checked baggage. If I recall correctly, you
do not see the checked baggage screening process at FLL. If I am
mistaken, I hope someone corrects me.

Best regards,
Ray
LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL
800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
http://www.lighthousetravel.com

Funny, I was thinking the same thing. How people can be so dumb is
beyond me. I never pack anything valuable in my checked luggage. And
we watch the carryone screenings like a hawk! Luckily, we've never had
a problem in all our travels.

Gayle

On 30 Jun 2004, OcnGypZ wrote:

Subject: Fort Lauderdale airport screeners charged with stealing from baggage

What really amazes me are the people who pack things like cash.. in a
suitcase....and of course, people who don't watch these TSA people like a hawk
during the carryon bag screenings.

Babette

Hi:

When I was returning from a trip recently, they decided my "red" bag
(which is one of those "everything" bags) carryon needed hand
inspection as when it went through the scanner as it detected something.
The inspector opened the bag which has many, many zips and pockets and
went through everything but could not find whatever it was he was
looking for. In it, I had my jewelry roll with some good jewelry in it
as I had been to a wedding. He told me he had to take it back to have
it scanned again. I asked if I could go with him. He said "no". I
asked if I could please keep my jewelry roll He told me "no." I
sweated bricks until he returned with the jewelry. What they found was
a butter knife that I had forgotten about and had been through several
scannings before that incident.

I always make sure my husband goes through the scanner before me so he
will be on the other end to retrieve my purse and "red bag" as it comes
out. But that was a situation I didn't quite know how to deal with
because if they had taken something, how could I prove it?

Tucker in Texas (who never packs anything in checked luggage she cares
about getting "lost")

On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 16:42:02 GMT, Richard Whitlock
wrote:

What they found was
a butter knife that I had forgotten about and had been through several
scannings before that incident.

Hi Tucker,

I hate it when I forget to unpack my butter knife. You just never know
when I will need it. vbg

Best regards,
Ray
LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL
800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
http://www.lighthousetravel.com

In article , Richard Whitlock
wrote:

Hi:

When I was returning from a trip recently, they decided my "red" bag
(which is one of those "everything" bags) carryon needed hand
inspection as when it went through the scanner as it detected something.
The inspector opened the bag which has many, many zips and pockets and
went through everything but could not find whatever it was he was
looking for. In it, I had my jewelry roll with some good jewelry in it
as I had been to a wedding. He told me he had to take it back to have
it scanned again. I asked if I could go with him. He said "no". I
asked if I could please keep my jewelry roll He told me "no." I
sweated bricks until he returned with the jewelry. What they found was
a butter knife that I had forgotten about and had been through several
scannings before that incident.

I always make sure my husband goes through the scanner before me so he
will be on the other end to retrieve my purse and "red bag" as it comes
out. But that was a situation I didn't quite know how to deal with
because if they had taken something, how could I prove it?

Tucker in Texas (who never packs anything in checked luggage she cares
about getting "lost")

Next time, don't ask to go along just do it.

That's what I did when they wanted to take my carryon behind a
partition. They tried to tell me I couldn't be there and one asked me
if I trusted them. I told them 'no, I don't even know you'.

Others I have talked to said that just following them with your bag
will usually work with little or no hassle.

Lloyd

Ray Goldenberg wrote:
On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 16:42:02 GMT, Richard Whitlock
wrote:


What they found was
a butter knife that I had forgotten about and had been through several
scannings before that incident.


Hi Tucker,

I hate it when I forget to unpack my butter knife. You just never know
when I will need it. vbg

LOL

From: Lee Lindquist , commented:

This part cracked me up:

"...Stover declined to say whether the men still work for the agency, but
said their conduct
should not reflect negatively on other screeners."

Gee, if you're not going to fire them, THAT certainly reflects
negatively on the whole group.

Lee,

Remember these TSA screeners are now federal employees, and not that easy to
summarily discharge. I agree that this does reflect poorly on their
colleagues. Perhaps time will tell if these were isolated incidents.

My question is, "What were the victims thinking about when they sent the stolen
items in checked luggage?" IMHO that seems atad risky, not that that excuses
the thefts.



Ray

Wishing light winds and smooth seas to all

Ray,

I have no experience in FLL since October, 2001, a month after 9/11.

We wanted to meet some dear friends who live in the area, and we had hoped
that we could check out luggage with the airline and then go off.

I don't know what the rules are at this time, but back then we were not
permitted to check out luggage that far in advance of our flight. In
addition, when we finally were allowed to check the luggage we were never
allowed to watch the screening, nor have we ever watched the screening of
our luggage on ANY flight either before or after 9/11..

One further note. We must have trustworthy looking luggage. Danni bought
TSA approved locks last year, and we applied them to our checked luggage
from Philadelphia to San Diego, and re-locked what we opened overnight at
our hotel, and locked them again on the way home, and not one of our bags
were opened.
--
DG in Cherry Hill, NJ



"Ray Goldenberg" wrote in message
...

Hi Babette,

I agree with you about what folks pack. The stories that I have read
indicated that this was checked baggage. If I recall correctly, you
do not see the checked baggage screening process at FLL. If I am
mistaken, I hope someone corrects me.

Best regards,
Ray
LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL
800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
http://www.lighthousetravel.com