FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2005

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DA BROWN: FOUR TSA SCREENERS PLEAD GUILTY TO STEALING VALUABLES – INCLUDING $80,000 IN CASH – FROM TRAVELERS’ LUGGAGE
Charges Pending Against 3 Other TSA Screeners For Theft of Air Passengers Property

Queens County District Attorney Richard A. Brown today announced that four Transportation Security Administration agents assigned to the City’s two major airports have pled guilty in recent months to felony charges in connection with the theft of cash and personal property – included jewelry and watches – from passenger bags. In the most recent case, a TSA agent assigned to John F. Kennedy International Airport pleaded guilty earlier this week to stealing more than $80,000 in cash from a suitcase that had been checked and was bound for Pakistan. The luggage had been placed for inspection in a secure screening area.

District Attorney Brown said, “The defendants have admitted their guilt, waived appeal and acknowledged that they used their position as trusted insiders to ensure the safety and security of our nation’s airlines and to protect us from terrorism by betraying their oath to protect our nation’s air transportation system and the trust of the thousands of dedicated TSA agents who faithfully carry out their responsibilities each day. The defendants have now pled guilty to felonies and will never again be allowed to obtain employment in a public safety position.”

The District Attorney identified the defendant in the most recent case as Frank Ulerio Jr., 23, of 7049 66th Place in Glendale, Queens. Ulerio, a TSA screener assigned to JFK Airport, pleaded guilty on Wednesday, December 14, 2005, to Grand Larceny in the Second Degree before Queens Supreme Court Justice Robert Raciti who indicated that at sentencing on January 19, 2006 he would impose a sentence of one year in jail. In addition, the defendant will execute a confession of judgment for $62,000.

The District Attorney said that, while inspecting checked baggage in Pakistani International Airlines’ terminal 4 departures screening area on the evening of October 7, 2005, Ulerio removed $80,000 in cash from a suitcase belonging to a 45-year-old airline passenger from Astoria, Queens, who was boarding a flight to Pakistan. In pleading guilty, Ulerio admitted that he had used a portion of the money to pay off a gambling debt. PAPD officers recovered $18,000 in cash from the defendant when they arrested him in October.

District Attorney Brown identified the other three defendants as Nelson Caraballo, 42, of 333 56th Street in Brooklyn, Clarence Henry, 51, of 5014 Avenue I, also in Brooklyn, and Jaime Maldonado, 43, of 4360 Baychester Avenue in the Bronx. Caraballo and Maldonado are both assigned to LaGuardia Airport and Henry is assigned to JFK International Airport.

Henry appeared last week before Queens Supreme Court Justice James P. Griffin and pleaded guilty to Tampering with Public Records in the First Degree in connection with the August 5, 2004 theft of cash from a passenger’s checked bag at the American Airlines terminal and his failure to document the incident. Justice Griffin, who set sentencing for February 9, 2006, indicated that he will likely sentence the defendant to one year in jail.

Caraballo, also appearing last week before Justice Griffin, admitted that on May 5, 2004 he switched luggage tags on a set of checked bags in order to conceal the theft of property from one of the bags and that he failed to document the item’s removal. Caraballo pleaded guilty to Tampering with Public Records in the First Degree and Justice Griffin set sentencing for February 8, 2006, at which time he indicated that he would likely impose a sentence of six months in jail and five years’ probation.

Maldonado pleaded guilty on August 8, 2005 to Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree after admitting that, while on duty at the Continental Airlines terminal on May 3, 2004, he took a flashlight out of a checked bag and failed to document that he did so. Queens Supreme Court Justice Dorothy Chin Brandt, who accepted Maldonado’s plea of guilty, set sentencing for February 7, 2006, and indicated that she would likely impose a sentence of three months in jail and five years’ probation.

District Attorney Brown said that following the execution of a court-authorized search warrant in August 2004, detectives seized stolen property consisting of a stolen flashlight, book and knife from Maldonado’s residence and a large cache of electronics, jewelry and watches from Caraballo’s storage closet.

In announcing today’s guilty pleas, District Attorney Brown noted that three other TSA agents are presently awaiting trial for the theft of property from passengers bags. They are:

▸ Ronniki Ack, 23, of 1317 East 54th Street in Brooklyn, and Yvette Reynolds, 35, of 117-32 142nd Place in Jamaica, Queens. The two defendants were charged on December 13, 2005 with stealing the wallet from baggage belonging to a New York City firefighter who was on his way to Key West, Florida, to help the victims of Hurricane Wilma. The defendants were accused of stealing $3,200 from the victim’s bank account and making numerous purchases with the victim’s credit and debit cards. Ack and Reynolds were both charged with Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Fourth Degree and Official Misconduct. If convicted, they each face up to seven years in prison.

▸ Carmita Williams, 47, of 131 Lincoln Road in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. As a TSA screener assigned to LaGuardia Airport, Williams was charged with aiding the defendant Caraballo in tag switching by exchanging tags and then failing to document or report the underlying theft.

According to the Transportation Security Administration, TSA agents are authorized to open and search luggage for contraband, explosives, hazardous materials and other banned items and to place inside the luggage a notice of inspection form advising the passenger that the bag had been opened and inspected. The Transportation Security Administration was created by legislation on November 19, 2001 in response to air safety and security concerns stemming from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

District Attorney Brown expressed his appreciation to the Port Authority Police Department, which conducted the investigations leading to today’s announced arrests and convictions. Specifically, the Ulerio investigation was conducted by PAPD Police Officer Adil Almontaser, who was assisted by Detective Frank Jilling, and supervised by Sergeant Boris Perdomo and Lieutenant William Hanley and Inspector John Kassimatis, under the overall supervision of Superintendent of Police Samuel J. Plumeri, Jr. The Caraballo, Maldonado and Williams investigations were conducted by PAPD detectives under the supervision of Lieutenant William Hanley and Inspector George Albin.

Assistant District Attorneys Carmencita N. Gutierrez, Deputy Bureau Chief, and Daniel J. O’Leary of the District Attorney’s Integrity Bureau are prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney James M. Liander, Bureau Chief, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Linda M. Cantoni.

It should be noted that a criminal complaint is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.