US airport security man steals $80,000 from PIA passenger’s bag

NEW YORK—A baggage screener at New York’s Kennedy Airport stole $80,000 in cash from a checked suitcase belonging to a passenger bound for Pakistan, according to reports on Thursday, citing officials.
The passenger, 45, who owns a gift shop in Manhattan and lives in Astoria, a neighbourhood in Queens, which is a borough of New York city, checked the suitcase at Pakistan International Airlines on Oct. 7, prosecutors said.
The passenger, who was not identified, handed it and another piece of luggage to a cousin, who took them to a secure screening area while the passenger said goodbye to his family, officials said.
When the shop owner arrived in Karachi, the cash in $100 notes was missing. He called the authorities in New York, and as part of their investigation, the cousin identified the screener with whom he had left the bags, prosecutors said.
When confronted Tuesday while on duty at the airport, the screener, Frank Ulerio, 23, admitted stealing $60,000, and he had $18,000 of the money with him, officials said.
Ulerio also said he used part of the money to pay off a gambling debt, prosecutors said. “It is particularly troubling that an individual responsible for ensuring the safety and security of our nation’s airlines and protecting us from terrorism would allegedly engage in such egregious conduct,” Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement.
Ulerio was awaiting arraignment in Queens Criminal Court on charges of second-degree grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property.
If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison. According to the Transportation Security Administration, agents are authorized to open and search luggage for explosives and other banned items and to place inside the luggage a notice telling the passenger the bag had been searched.
TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis declined to comment on the case but said “travelers can be assured that TSA has a zero-tolerance policy for theft in the workplace”. —Agencies