TSA Snaps Cellist’s Bow in Half.

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The Strad reports:

A rare Heinrich Knopf bow belonging to Alban Gerhardt was damaged by security officers as he entered the US. In what the cellist called ‘an act of brutal and careless behaviour’, the bow [...] was snapped in two, over the bridge of the cello, by air security staff at O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, as they examined the case’s contents.

According to Gerhardt, ‘The bow must have somehow moved halfway out of its cover (the tip was still in the cover), and when it was halfway out, [Transportation Security Administration workers] forced the case shut and the bow broke.’ The incident occurred on 6 February, a day before Gerhardt was due to perform Prokofiev’s Symphony–Concerto with the Madison Symphony Orchestra in Madison, Wisconsin.

Gerhardt had also brought a Baroque bow in the case, for a subsequent concert in New York, but for the Prokofiev he was obliged to borrow a bow from Uri Vardi, a cellist and teacher at the University of Wisconsin School of Music.

The TSA broke a baroque bow.

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Flying While Female? Watch Out!

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Some TSA Officer’s aren’t pedophiles. That’s right: Some of our men and women with shiny badges aren’t interested in children, they’re interested in red-blooded grown American women!

Our friend Christopher Elliot writes:

The TSA has a thing for female passengers, a fact that any employee would be hard-pressed to deny. Agents have a disturbingly extensive vocabulary to describe beautiful passengers, including words like “Alfalfa,” “Code Red,” and “Hotel Bravo” (get it — Hot Babe?).

TSA agents apparently don’t flirt with attractive females, they “engage.” And when they talk about an “X-ray” they aren’t necessarily referring to a controversial full-body scanner; “X-ray” is screener-speak for, you guessed it, an attractive female passenger.

In his column “Flying While Female? 5 Things To Remember At The Airport” Elliot mentions some tips for women flying. While some of his ideas, such as the one to “dress down” may be of dubious merit, I’d certainly heed his advice not to get a private screening! You want them to be out in public, not behind closed doors.

Lightning Strikes Twice at the TSA

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You probably remember Reggie Edwards, the TSA “officer” who stole $36 dollars from someone and got caught.

Mr. Edwards has been arrested again! This time for stealing $150.00. Seems like after the $36 caper made the news, another passenger came forward and there was enough evidence (perhaps from the video surveillance) to indict Reggie for this crime.

WSOC reports:

HARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte woman told Eyewitness News she also had cash stolen from a TSA baggage inspector at Charlotte Douglas airport.

Reggie Edwards was arrested and charged with stealing cash out of a suitcase.

Edwards was arrested again Thursday after police said they linked him to stealing $150 from a woman’s suitcase just weeks before.

“I was shocked,” said victim Nancy Turner. “I have always traveled like this. Not to carry a lot on me, and just to put it deep inside my luggage and it’s never been bothered and my luggage has been inspected a number of times.”

You can read the whole report at WSOT TV’s web site. And see the thread on Flyertalk, too.

No Job Too Small for the TSA

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The TSA doesn’t just steal high-ticket items, like iPads. And they don’t always net thousand of dollars with every “score.” They’ll take as little as $36 dollars.

According to a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police report, the 52-year-old Reggie Edwards, pictured below, stole $36 from the victim’s suitcase. He was charged with larceny under $50

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WSOC TV is reporting:

Passengers just hearing about the news were outraged.

“The employees are supposed to be protecting our land from future terrorist attacks, not stealing from fellow Americans,” said Jimmy Demopoulos

Edwards was fired for the incident and a TSA Spokesman said in a statement Sunday that “TSA does not tolerate theft and moved immediately to terminate this individual.”

Eyewitness News went to an address listed for Edwards on Sunday. A man answered the door and then slammed it shut.

See more news at WSOC TV.

Another TSA Sting Yields another iPad-Stealing TSA Employee

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Just yesterday, when I was flying through Burbank airport, I told the TSA Officer not to steal my iPad.

“Now why would I do that?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” I replied, “why don’t you ask Sean Henry?”

Sean Henry, Alleged iPad ThiefMr. Henry, pictured above, was accused of stealing two iPads that were involved in a sting operation at JFK airport earlier this week.

ABC News Reports:

TSA baggage screener Sean Henry, 32, was arrested on Tuesday after a sting operation conducted jointly by the TSA and the Port Authority Police Department caught Henry leaving the airport with two iPads that had been planted as part of the sting, as well as numerous other electronics devices he had allegedly stolen from passengers.

The report continues:

Just as in a recent ABC News investigation of thefts by TSA agents, the sting used the iPads’ own tracking capabilities to follow the stolen tablets’ movements.

And, where there’s smoke, there’s fire! All sorts of stolen items were at his house and on his person:

After arresting Henry, Coleman said, investigators found more devices in his backpack that they have identified as stolen property, including a MacBook Pro and a pair of new Beats by Dr. Dre Headphones still in the box. They also found another set of Beats Headphones, an Apple iPad Mini, an Apple iPod and an iPhone, which were taken for further investigation.

A subsequent search of his house also turned up a black Apple Macbook that was identified as stolen property, Coleman said.

Henry was charged with grand larceny and possession of stolen property. He was released on his own recognizance on Wednesday night and is due back in court in January. He has not yet entered a plea.

Why do they steal? These fine men and women blame “the system.” It’s “the man’s” fault. Pythias Brown, who stole over $800,000 worth of merchandise from traveling Americans, said it was because he wasn’t paid enough.

Read more at ABC News and see a video of the sting operation they conducted in Florida.