No truth to the reality TV rumor that this is the basis of a new History Channel program titled "American Airline Pickers", although A&E might consider this for another airport-themed program that emphasizes hotel mini-fridges and sober TSA agents.
A cleaner at Kennedy Airport hoovered up over $10,000 worth of mini-liquor bottles and other items from airplanes, prosecutors said Friday.
When investigators acting on a tip searched the Bushwick, Brooklyn, home of Juanette Cullum, 48, they found almost 1,500 tiny bottles in one of her closets, prosecutors said.
In addition to the 1,429 unopened mini bottles, detectives also found 19 Kindles, seven iPads, two laptops, and a “large amount” of miscellaneous toiletries, the Port Authority police said. Authorities said Cullum admitted stealing from American Airlines planes at Terminal 8 for about three years.
The top airports across the U.S. for TSA employees fired for theft in 2012 were:
1. Miami International Airport (29)
2. JFK International Airport (27)
3. Los Angeles International Airport (24)
4. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (17)
5. Las Vegas-McCarren International Airport (15)
6. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and New York-Laguardia Airport (14 each)
8. Newark Liberty, Philadelphia International, and Seattle-Tacoma International airports (12 each)
11. Orlando International Airport (11)
12. Houston-George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Salt Lake City International Airport (10 each)
14. Washington Dulles International Airport (9)
15. Detroit Metro Airport and Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (7)
17. Boston-Logan International, Denver International and San Diego International airports (6)
20. Chicago O'Hare International Airport (5)
During a recent ABC News investigation, an iPad left behind at a security checkpoint at the Orlando airport was tracked as it moved 30 miles away to the home of the TSA officer last seen handling it.
....over 400 TSA employees have been fired for theft since 2003. But Pythias Brown, who was convicted of stealing over $800,000 worth of items while working as a TSA agent, says that’s just the tip of the iceberg. “It was very commonplace, very,” Brown said of TSA theft.
What can you do to make sure your valuables don’t get stolen? Most people – including TSA, themselves – suggest that you don’t pack valuables in your checked bags in the first place. Many people don’t even check bags anymore, particularly with added baggage fees at most airlines.
And, then, there are the more creative solutions. One victim of luggage theft suggests packing a starting pistol in your bags, which qualifies as a weapon and then requires you to declare the weapon. Declaring a weapon in your checked luggage assures that the bag will be locked and tracked, making it far harder to steal from. https://www.yahoo.com/...