Criminal Activities Among TSA Workers Continues

Criminal Activities Among TSA Workers Continues

By Ellen Cannon

     Although the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues to remind us that “The TSA holds its security officers to the highest professional and ethical standards and aggressively investigates allegations of misconduct,” allegations of individual misconduct continue to be reported.

     Yesterday’s local coverage of the son of a former Los Angeles fire chief being charged with bribing a federal Transportation officer at Los Angeles International Airport made front page news. Millage Peaks IV admitted to the FBI that a TSA employee helped him smuggle marijuana past security on nine separate trips he made from LAX. The TSA officer, Diane Perez, allegedly was paid between $5000 to $6000 to assist Peaks in getting the drugs on the plane without being  detected. Perez was arrested by the FBI and charged with accepting bribes.

     Peaks and Perez devised a system for avoiding detection that centered on Peaks meeting Perez outside the terminal, checking luggage, and then giving TSA officer Perez two pieces of checked luggage containing drugs. Perez would take the checked bags to the TSA screening room, and shortly thereafter would indicate that the luggage was “good to go.” ( Rick Rojas and Richard Winton, www.latimes.com10.18.2011) 

     Diane Perez has been a TSA officer for seven years. Her job description as reported in the press included “running bags through an X-ray machine and search for explosives, dangerous items or dense items.”

     TSA officer Perez and Mr. Peaks IV will be arraigned on November 14.  If convicted, they each face up to 15 years in federal prison. (Rick Rojas and Richard Winton,www.latimes.com, 10/18/2011 ) The TSA stated that they are involved in the investigation and “appropriate action will be taken.

   TSA security officer, Michael Scott Wilson, 41, of Perry Hall Maryland, was arrested this week and charged with possession and distribution of child pornography. The material was discovered after his home had been searched. According to reports by WBALTV, Wilson was described as a “straight-laced federal worker who took pride in his position and the trust that comes with it.” A neighbor, Brian Ryerson stated,” I travel twice a week, so to think that one of these screeners could live in your neighborhood and face charges like this is alarming.” (www.wbaltv.com, 10.18/2011)

     Peter Franceschina reports this week that the former top U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in South Miami Anthony V. Mangione, was also charged with federal child pornography activities. Mangione was an employee with ICE for more than 27 years.  According to the search warrants, Mangione and his family had a dozen computers and 16 cell phones. He has been charged with three counts of possessing, receiving, and transporting child pornography, charges punishable by up to 50 years in prison.(www.sun-sentinel.com10,17.2011)  

     A Miami TSA employee was recently taken into custody at Miami International Airport after he unlawfully tried to bring a handgun into a secured area. The TSA screener, Eduardo Valdes, “was reporting for duty on the sterile side of the airport. He was passing through an employee security checkpoint when another screener noticed a handgun in his bag.” According to the police report, Valdes admitted he knew it was illegal to bring a firearm into the airport and that he just “forgot.” He also said the gun was not registered and he did not have a permit for a concealed weapon. He was taken to Miami Dade County Jail.(www.local10.com, 10/18/2011

    Andrew Becker and Richard Marosi report that “since October 2004, 132 U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees have been indicted or convicted on corruption charges. They contend that rapid expansion of the program and lack of funds for background checks are the primary source of this growing personnel problem. They note that an examination of this issue by The Times and the Center for Investigative Reporting found serious concerns regarding the adequacy of the custom’s agency’s screening processes. “As the agency rapidly increased staffing, the system was designed to identify shady job applicants struggled to keep pace, resulting in hurried background checks and loosened hiring standards, said former and current Customs officials, background investigators and Border Patrol union officials.” (www.latimes.com. 10/17/2011)

     This systemic problem was corroborated by Customs Commissioner Alan Bersin.  Testifying at a congressional hearing in June he stated, “The accelerated hiring pace under which we operated between 2006 and 2008…exposed critical organizational and individual vulnerabilities within.

     W.Ralph Basham, Customs Commissioner from 2006 until 2009, is reported to have told high ranking officials at the Department of Homeland Security “that he was not comfortable with the agency’s rapid expansion.  According to Basham those concerns were dismissed. (www.latimes.com(10/16/2011)

     Congress has passed legislation addressing Basham’s concerns.  Prospective agents in the future will undergo polygraph testing when applying for positions as custom agents.

     Public Personnel policies and procedures are a critical part of governance and public trust.  As all divisions of security personnel increase the systemic ills which regularly are uncovered and reported must be addressed. Public trust in government performance is being challenged by voters and citizen groups. The quality and selection process by which personnel at DHS are chosen requires more than reassuring press releases.