We have yet another TSA agent arrested for theft this month. Daniel Ortiz, Jr., 39, was caught removing a $1,000 watch from a passenger’s bag during a security screening and putting it in his pocket at the Newark airport.
The crime occurred around 4:30 p.m. and was seen by witnesses. The property was a Michele Deco watch worth about $1,000 and was found on Ortiz, who was then arrested.
We have previously discussed TSA thefts (here and here and here and here and here).
In cases of this kind, the status of the TSA officer will usually be added as an aggravator for sentencing in that he abused of position of authority.
Thieves Standing Around
Then, of course, there’s always this great scene:
I couldn’t help but think of this clip when reading about this TSA officer pocketing the passenger’s watch, which he, ultimately, had to return.
If what the TSA does at airports is security theater, then the TSA employees are among the most steadily employed actors in the country. And, they are represented by the wrong union.
Oh my–we can’t have any of that dreadful profiling, can we? דמד
Olly
I’ve learned a lot on this blog. I’ve learned that all sorts of things lurk in the minds of men.
The Shadow
Oh in New Jersey…this is allowed ,our politicians do so who’s to say no
“But hey it’s Obama’s fault, isn’t it?”
Who says one cannot learn on a blog?
I do not have much faith in the TSA. Aside from following a factory model, which by definition lulls its employees into a stupor hardly up to the task of catching bombs and weapons before they board a plane, their hiring practices seem to be the bottom of the barrel.
I would rather trust the military to incorporate short tours of duty through airports, and model security after Israel’s, because they have had a lot of practice. I would rather have taxpayer money support the military doing TSA’s job – they have better training, and they have the scope to rotate out personnel to avoid repetition fatigue. There would also be an added benefit that this would help keep our military numbers strong in a world with escalating global violence. Plus they have a very strict courts martial for offenders.
Tens of thousands of low paid, poorly educated people doing a thankless and mindless job, comes with the territory. But hey it’s Obama’s fault, isn’t it?
Tony Short Arse.
If Donald really wants to win, he will offer to fix TSA: You’re fired! Replace them all with his own subcontractors for all i care.
I love art deco watches. The thief has good taste. FIre TSA en masse, post haste!
TSA means Totally Stupid Animals
Thousands Standing Around
Well, if the problem is dealt with the old-fashioned bureaucratic way, then the agent keeps his job and they hire another layer of management to provide security over the security. Oh, they will have a need to increase the budget and *poof*…$20 trillion in national debt.
The annual budget for the Transportation Security Administration has risen from $4.8 billion in fiscal 2003 to more than $7 billion today.
For that we get:
A 2013 report from the Government Accountability Office, a federal watchdog agency, found a 26 percent increase in misconduct among TSA employees from fiscal year 2010 through 2012 — and a significant portion of that misconduct involved theft.
I have to ask, why does John keep writing about this? The problem is endemic. .
Thugs Standing Around = TSA
He will probably be promoted.