TSA Screeners Stole $40K from NY Luggage
January 17th, 2012Via: Natural News:
Any normal person found guilty of stealing $40,000 from, say, a bank or an employer, would likely be sentenced to at least five years of prison. But when you work for the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA), you can expect to be given special legal treatment and sent on your way.
The Associated Press reports that two former TSA screeners, 44-year-old Coumar Persad and 31-year-old Davon Webb, both of which worked at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, have pleaded guilty to grand larceny, obstructing governmental administration, and official misconduct, for stealing nearly $40,000 from an airport traveler’s luggage. But rather than receive a normal prison sentence for such crimes, the two were sentenced to just six months in prison with five years of probation.
Reports indicate that Persad, who was an X-ray luggage screener at the time, had spotted the wad of cash in a suitcase while monitoring the X-ray screen. He reportedly then contacted Webb, who worked in another baggage area, to watch for the bag and mark it with special tape. Persad later intercepted the bag in another baggage handling area, and proceeded to open it up and take the cash.
All in all, the two thieves snagged $39,980, which was later retrieved by police from the men’s homes.
I know this made it up as a story because it involves the TSA. If it had been anyone else finding $40k in a bag, it wouldn’t make the news.
The question is, why was someone traveling with $40k in their suitcase? I get nervous about traveling with my firearms in checked luggage, and that’s only about $1k, depending on what I’m carrying. Those have to go into checked luggage, since I’m not active duty law enforcement working for DHS (i.e., I’m not an air marshal).
It’s not like it wouldn’t fit in his carry on. According to the US Treasury a single bill is 2.61″ x 6.14″ x 0.00756692913″. $40k in $100 bills would be all of 3.03″ tall. $40k in $20 bills would be 15.13″ tall. That’d be easily bundled into 3 stacks, 5″ tall.
Of course, they could have been trying to avoid extensive questioning, as the TSA has already said that traveling with “large” amounts of cash can be grounds for questioning.
http://blog.tsa.gov/2009/04/traveling-with-large-amounts-of-cash.html
http://blog.tsa.gov/2009/04/incident-at-st-louis-international.html
There are other (and numerous) stories where individuals have been detained and the cash seized, while traveling in the US by private vehicle (i.e., their own car). Any amount of cash can be viewed as intent to commit a crime (purchase drugs, or other black market items).
Technically, you can be arrested for intent to purchase drugs by having $20 in your pocket, and be in an area where there has been drug activity. I doubt it would become a conviction, but that’s another story.
I don’t see any mention of whether the money was returned to the person it was stolen from or if it was “arrested”.
see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._$124,700_in_U.S._Currency