TSA Employee Caught Stealing $160,000 from Checked Bags

TSA has lost its usefulness. Airports needs to adopt privatization of airport security..........

(New York Post) Two TSA agents were busted today at Kennedy Airport for stealing $160,000 in cash from bags, authorities said.

Davon Webb, 30, and Couman Perad, who turned 36 today, were arrested after admitting they had regularly stolen from checked bags, sources said.

In one instance, Perad, who joined the Transportation Security Administration in 2002, and Webb, who has been an agent since 2004, stole $39,000 on Jan. 30 from a bag at Terminal 8, sources said.

The passenger whose money was stolen was on his way to Argentina, sources said.

The $39,000 was later found in their homes after TSA notified Port Authority police, sources said.

Also today, the TSA confirmed that a string of security lapses took place at Newark Airport within the past month, the Newark Star-Ledger reported

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the two incidents were among a string of five security lapses at Newark within the last 30 days.

Another incident reported by the officials involved a dead dog that was brought to the airport by its owner and loaded onto a Continental Airlines jet without ever being screened.

Newark Airport controversial scanners are barely used on busiest travel day

NEWARK — The choice between a "virtual strip search" and a "grope" was strictly academic Wednesday for most holiday travelers flying out of Newark Liberty International Airport.

The majority of Newark’s full-body scanners were idle throughout much of the day, depriving most passengers of the chance to opt out of the controversial screening procedure even if they had wanted to.

All in all, Thanksgiving eve was a non-event at Newark Liberty, reflecting the relative calm reported at airports around the country.

This just shows the absurdity of using body scanners. It is useless. There hasn't been any issue during Thanksgiving regarding to terrorist activity. Since most of the body scanners were idle, travelers went from point A to point B without a plane blowing up. It seems the status quo before body scanners became the mainstream was just fine. It proves how the government went a tad overboard with airport security.