Stole Items From Passenger Luggage

On the heels of a TSA crackdown on airline and airport employee screenings -- after Delta Air Lines baggage handlers were caught smuggling guns and drugs through Orlando International Airport -- now comes word the agency should perhaps be screening some of its employees, too.

Several TSA screeners at Los Angeles International Airport are suspected of stealing items from passengers during screenings. The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office will be filing misdemeanor theft charges, The Associated Press reports.

Nick Velasquez, a spokesman for City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo's office, said alleged victims include hotel heiress Paris Hilton, singer Keyshia Cole and several non-celebrity passengers. Some of the stolen items include cartons of cigarettes, watches and jewelry.

The alleged incidents occurred almost two years ago, according to a report by KTLA Channel 5 News in Los Angeles. The items were taken from checked baggage as well as carry-on luggage.

Carol Carter, an LAX air traveler, told reporters such theft isn't something she really worries about when she travels.

"No, they're supposed to be the best of the best -- they're federal government employees," she said. "But it doesn't surprise me."

Fellow traveler Rhonda Allen says she follows a simple rule for avoiding situations like this.

"I don't check anything I can't afford to lose," she said.

A total of 10 airport employees and one transient are to be charged. Of this group, eight were airport screeners who have since been terminated from their positions, according to the Los Angeles Times.

A TSA spokesman told KTLA such occurrences are "extremely rare." LAX has had more than 5,000 screeners employed over the last five years, and only 12 have been fired for theft.

The TSA has been trying to crack down on theft by airport employees, Velasquez said, adding the agency "played a key role" in this investigation.

FMI: www.laxa.org, www.tsa.gov