NEW YORK (AP) — A Transportation Security Administration agent stole $5,000 in cash from a passenger's jacket as he was going through security at John F. Kennedy International Airport, authorities said Thursday, the latest in a string of thefts that has embarrassed the agency.
Alexandra Schmid took the cash from a Bangladeshi passenger's jacket as it went along an X-ray conveyor belt Wednesday night in Terminal 4, said Al Della Fave, spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's police force.
Surveillance video showed Schmid taking the money from a jacket pocket, wrapping the cash in a plastic glove and taking it to a bathroom, Della Fave said.
The money hasn't been recovered, he said. Police are investigating whether Schmid gave it to another person in the bathroom.
The 31-year-old Schmid was arrested on a charge of grand larceny and suspended pending an investigation. Her attorney's name wasn't immediately known.
Schmid, who lived in Brooklyn, had worked for the TSA for 4½ years, TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said.
Use common sense. With the new scanners they use at airports you cannot watch your luggage and jackets as it goes through the X-Ray. They know you can't see the stuff while you are holding your hands in the air and faced away from the conveyor belt. If you are carrying cash put it in a sock and bury it at the bottom of your carry-on luggage. If they pull you out of line and want to search your luggage you are now in control and can see what they were doing. Forget about keeping your cash in your pants pocket or hiding it in your briefs or boxers. They will do a strip search if they see any darkened object on your person. I would even go so far as putting a mini-lock on your carry-on and opening it if ordered to. A great many of these TSA agents are thieves. They are working for $10 an hour and are only looking for the right opportunity to steal.
Alexandra Schmid took the cash from a Bangladeshi passenger's jacket as it went along an X-ray conveyor belt Wednesday night in Terminal 4, said Al Della Fave, spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's police force.
Surveillance video showed Schmid taking the money from a jacket pocket, wrapping the cash in a plastic glove and taking it to a bathroom, Della Fave said.
The money hasn't been recovered, he said. Police are investigating whether Schmid gave it to another person in the bathroom.
The 31-year-old Schmid was arrested on a charge of grand larceny and suspended pending an investigation. Her attorney's name wasn't immediately known.
Schmid, who lived in Brooklyn, had worked for the TSA for 4½ years, TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said.
Use common sense. With the new scanners they use at airports you cannot watch your luggage and jackets as it goes through the X-Ray. They know you can't see the stuff while you are holding your hands in the air and faced away from the conveyor belt. If you are carrying cash put it in a sock and bury it at the bottom of your carry-on luggage. If they pull you out of line and want to search your luggage you are now in control and can see what they were doing. Forget about keeping your cash in your pants pocket or hiding it in your briefs or boxers. They will do a strip search if they see any darkened object on your person. I would even go so far as putting a mini-lock on your carry-on and opening it if ordered to. A great many of these TSA agents are thieves. They are working for $10 an hour and are only looking for the right opportunity to steal.
