TSA Employee Caught With $200K Worth of Stolen Property

The plane moves me or I move the plane? writes "After years of people complaining about their luggage locks being broken in the name of the Transportation Security Administration, and after countless properly-stowed utilities and tools had been scrutinized from a paranoid point of view, an employee of the TSA (which is part of the Department of Homeland Security) has been captured with evidence of over $200,000 worth of stolen property he was selling on eBay. With the help of local police and the USPS, a search of his house found a great deal of property pilfered from the un-witnessed searches that occurred after luggage had been checked, where the rightful owner was not allowed. 'Among the items seized were 66 cameras, 31 laptop computers, 20 cell phones, 17 sets of electronic games, 13 pieces of jewelry, 12 GPS devices, 11 MP3 players, eight camera lenses, six video cameras and two DVD players, the affidavit said.'"

Comments

Told to F-O

[Nom du Keyboard]

After having my TSA-approved lock ripped off of my new suitcase on its very first trip and basically told to F-O about complaints over it (Oh, it might have gotten caught in the machinery, and btw, why are you locking it at all) this is vindication - but no better protection than yesterday - of what a lot of us have been saying for a very long time. Yes I want my flight to land as safely as it took off since I'm in it, but providing a secret open hunting ground for minimum wage employees doesn't cut it for me.

Yes, you can lock your luggage.

[BenEnglishAtHome]

We weren't prevented from locking our baggage until a few years ago.

You're not prevented from locking your luggage. The TSA doesn't want you to lock your luggage because they're searching it after you check it. Therefore, locking it makes it difficult for them. However, if you lock it, they'll deal with it. You might not like the way they deal with it, but they'll deal with it and you've broken no law by locking your luggage. TSA does offer a compromise; you can use one of those locks they have keys to. It's not foolproof; there have been lots of reports of those locks being destroyed. However, it's worth a shot.

Some of us have been forced to learn the ins and outs of this crap in more detail than we wish. If, like me, you travel with firearms, you'll learn that the FAA is statutorily in charge of what can and can't be checked and the TSA can't order me to do anything that violates FAA regs. FAA regs mandate that luggage with firearms must be locked. Period.

There are some tips and tricks for dealing with this situation but they're beyond the scope of this discussion. My point is simply that it's incorrect to say that we're "prevented" from locking our baggage. We most assuredly are not.

Re:Yes, you can lock your luggage.

[i.r.id10t]

Well, no they can't at least when traveling with a firearm. You get to have real locks, the bag(s) are inspected in front of you, and you lock 'em. They also can't label it as having a firearm in it, in plain English or in a code/symbol/special tag, other than the bag has been cleared.

And any firearm will do. For under $100, you can get the action (serial numbered part, the part BATFE says is the gun) for a single shot shotgun - you don't need to keep the stock, barrel, etc. attached. You can put it in a camera sized case, locked, and put that in your regular luggage, also locked with a proper lock. Check in, tell them you need to declare a firearm (helps to have your airlines policies printed out, as well as the FAA and BATFE regs), get it checked, adn life is good.

Best part is getting to watch the look on the luggage guys face if your stuff doesn't show up or has been opened. Amazing what the phrase "Will you call the BATFE, or do I need to?" will do.

Of course, this doesn't help with international travel, but for domestic it works like a champ.

Re:flying sux

[drawfour]

You do not have a constitutional right to free speech. You have a constitutional right to not being censored by the GOVERNMENT:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Re:thieves standing around

[erroneus]

I could have advised that... in fact, I believe I have. If all of my comments are available for your viewing (I think paid subscribers can see them all) you would know that I am an ex-TSA screener. I screened both baggage and passengers. And in the case of baggage, some screening is done in the presence of the passenger and some is not. (It depends on the air carrier and the airport.)

In any case, the opportunities are very obvious and I have no doubt that temptation plays out as a huge contributor to the problem. Sometimes things are accidentally left out of bags when re-packing them. I know I personally failed to repack a toiletry kit with prescription drugs inside. Unfortunately by the time I realized what I had done, the bag was already loaded onto the plane. I could have simply pushed it aside, but instead I insisted that I be allowed to bring the toiletry bag to the carrier and ultimately to the passenger with my apologies. (I felt it was necessary because I had no idea how critical those drugs may have been.) Also, there are regulations about other things such as compressed gas containers (like hair spray and butane) and even hard liquor above certain volumes. (These are FAA rules, not TSA.)

So it is not uncommon to not put everything back... and because of this, other things slip through. And while I was with TSA, there was no rule about reporting items removed at the time. (There may be now, but there wasn't several years ago.) And while the items removed were "seized" it is unclear, even to myself, what was done with them... big ole bottles of whiskey? I have no idea... I didn't have the balls to want to take any home with me personally, but I am sure some may have.

Now with all that said, these expensive items... well, damn. I feel really bad for the passengers and for the innocent TSA screeners who will now be watched more closely or simply viewed with suspicion. I hope the guy gets nailed to the wall with all sorts of charges and that this story is paraded all around the TSA as an example. But with this said, the problem has always existed. Baggage handlers have been known to steal all sorts of things and even moreso as they often have access to vehicles for carrying things off. (I recall a baggage handler who was busted with a pickup truck full of golf bags and laptop bags... and he had, as I was told, been doing it for YEARS.) Furthermore, in the case of baggage claims, it is quite common to see someone randomly come up to the carousel and pick up bags and walk away with them... treasure hunting. LOTS of stuff goes missing in that way especially.

The short of it? Yes, it is better (and often cheaper these days) to send things via UPS or FedEX! Checking into a hotel? Send it a day in advance and let your hotel know it's coming. Visiting friends or family? Same thing. But if you can't depend on that, there are other rules that allow you to carry extremely valuable things with you in spite of the carry-on limitations. So camera bags and laptops can also go with you even if it doesn't fit in with your carry-on luggage. Simply put: You insist that it is going with you and that it is too important or valuable to be put in with regular luggage.

Re:flying sux

[Amazing Quantum Man]

Minor nitpick: There are no Constitutionally-protected rights except through amendments, making the parenthetical a bit redundant.

Bullshit. This is why the Founders were leery of promoting the Bill of Rights, on the grounds someone would argue that "It's not in the Constitution, therefore the people don't have the right".

This is the purpose behind the Ninth Amendment.

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.