Bail set at $100,000 for airport baggage screener
October 8, 2008
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) _ Bail has been set at $100,000 for a Newark Liberty Airport baggage screener charged with stealing items from passenger luggage.
Pythias Brown, 48, of Maplewood, faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted and termination from his job with the Transportation Security Administration.
Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark, said the bail is unsecured and the bond will be co-signed by Brown's fianc Dee. The initial appearance hearing was held Wednesday. A plea will not be entered until later in the process. Brown is accused of stealing more than 100 items from luggage being screened by the Transportation Security Administration, including cameras, laptops, cell phones, GPS devices and MP3 players.
Lara Uselding, a TSA spokeswoman, said 465 transportation security officers have been terminated for theft since May 1, 2003, or 0.4 percent of those employed by the agency.
Brown was arrested after allegedly seeking to sell a stolen CNN camera on eBay and faces a single count of theft from a common carrier. Uselding says federal investigators placed the winning bid and recovered the stolen property at his home.
Brown worked behind the ticket counter where checked bags are screened. He is currently on administrative leave and the TSA will be pursuing his termination, according to Uselding. A message seeking comment from Assistant Federal Public Defender K. Anthony Thomas, who is representing Brown, was not immediately returned.
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