ABC News Tracks Missing iPad To Florida Home of TSA Officer

[IDemo]

Source: ABC News

In the latest apparent case of what have been hundreds of thefts by TSA officers of passenger belongings, an iPad left behind at a security checkpoint in the Orlando airport was tracked as it moved 30 miles to the home of the TSA officer last seen handling it.

Confronted two weeks later by ABC News, the TSA officer, Andy Ramirez, at first denied having the missing iPad, but ultimately turned it over after blaming his wife for taking it from the airport.

The iPad was one of ten purposely left behind at TSA checkpoints at major airports with a history of theft by government screeners, as part of an ABC News investigation into the TSA's ongoing problem with theft from passengers.

The full video report will be seen today on "Good Morning America," "ABC World News with Diane Sawyer" and "Nightline."

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/abc-news-tracks-missing-ipad-florida-home-tsa/story?id=17331937

[BarbaRosa]

1. Smooth move

blame it on your wife.

[petronius]

31. Truly, not the brightest bulb in the candelabra. Now no job, no ipad,

and no nookie...

[christx30]

40. They need to

Do away with "Take your theiving Wife to Work Day" at airports nationwide. It seems to be a major security problem. Good thing this honest, upstanding TSA agent was there to retrieve the iPad for the people that list it. Just so sad that he had to bust his wife for the theft.

[central scrutinizer]

42. TSA job description

[onehandle]

2. 'Find My iPad/iPhone/Mac.' A free and wildly successful, Apple service. nt

[Champion Jack]

8. +1,000

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

14. If the thief turned off the GPS setting, would it still be found?

IIRC, the GPS can be turned on or off. It can certainly be done in the iPhone, don't remember about the iPad.

Or will "Find my iThing" go through the network and turn it on if it's off? That would be a good capability.

[Brother Buzz]

17. It's Password protected

http://www.apple.com/ipad/find-my-ipad.html

[michael811]

23. every just remember the app has to be installed before the device is lost

Also it only works if the device is connected to the internet at the time you try and track it

[hobbit709]

3. Few years back my mother had 4 $50 gift cards disappear from her purse at the airport.

She didn't notice them missing until my brother picked her up at the airport here.

[KurtNYC]

4. how does "his wife took it home" make it any better?

If true that seems even worse.

[hobbit709]

5. so what was his wife doing at his workplace?

I mean, a security checkpoint is not the same as going to his office.

[exboyfil]

7. One thing to remember about this sting is

that 9 of 10 were handled correctly according to the story. All checked bags went through as well.

The story should be that the TSA employees did a pretty good job. I bet better than almost any business. That portion of the story was not emphasized (not saying I like the TSA but lets be fair). Run that sting in a department store for example.

Was the employee who took the iPad home part of a union and where his rights protected in the employment action which followed by the TSA?

[Stargazer09]

10. I see your point

But I am willing to bet that theft happens a lot more than we realize.

[d_r]

12. I'm with you

they just left 10 ipads just sitting there, and one of them gets taken home by somebody that works there.

[HereSince1628]

13. Most paid security at businesses have 10% pilfering vs holding rate on found items?

Maybe, but most businesses also have lost and found collections.

I certainly can imagine that percentage among avg people who "find" things on the street.

[eggplant]

19. Wait, what?

Change that to "They only inappropriately groped one out of the ten people". Is that just as acceptable?

And WTF does the union have anything to do with some asshole stealing an iPad?

[exboyfil]

38. The TSA is a government agency whose

employees are members of a union. Those members have rights including the right to due process. Granted it appears from the news report that he is guilty, but do we know that these reporters are ethically reporting the facts (or are they doing the equivalent of rigging a truck to explode)?

Everyone hates the TSA but would we be willing to crucify this man if he was a teacher or a postal worker w/out contractual due process for example.

I remember when the TSA was first proposed. Many conservatives argued against creating another government agency with government employees. This board is ready to go down that same path. You could blame Bush but Obama has been president for nearly four years now. Why has not the problems with the TSA been corrected?

I frankly think we need something like a TSA. I am not leaving the security of airplanes to the airlines anymore. The decision to protect the airlines in the wake of 9/11 was shameful in my opinion - they should have had to reap the full price of their negligence.

[TheMadMonk]

22. Or the others were smart enough to smell a rat.

Or were off shift.

Airports were selected for a HISTORY of stolen items.

As for rights, that sort of thievery generally equalls instant dismissal.

And, really, why the fuck are the rights of criminals somehow more important than the rights of their victims?

[demwing]

25. Would you really say a 10% dishonesty rate is "a pretty good job"?

Apply the dishonesty % to bank cashiers, gas pumps, and accountants. Still think 1 in 10 ain't bad?

[PavePusher]

26. Sorry, but a 10% failure rate in an ofice of public trust and responsibility....

is not a passing grade. Not even close.

If he stole something, I don't care if he's "union", toss his vile ass in the trash.

[petronius]

28. It's not really a 10% failure rate overall - with a sample of just 10,

the confidence interval is probably ~ +/- 10%. If they did this with 1000 ipads, we'd have a better sense of TSA institutional honesty.

For this individual, however, no excuse - fire him and prosecute. And, take a close look at anyone who was supposed to be supervising him...

[PavePusher]

35. Agreed, sample size is too small to be definitive....

but it is certianly at least indicitive that there may be a problem, and certainly merits additional investigation.

[petronius]

37. You're absolutely right about that. Sounds like the news organization detected a real

pattern, and they demonstrated that the problem exists - good work on their part, really. Now TSA (or its oversight) needs to step up and fix it...

[uncle ray]

32. while they are stealing 10% of our posessions, i wonder what % of contraband they are letting thru?

likewise, how much $$ would it take to get an opportunist who would steal an Ipad to look the other way?

[tavalon]

45. OMG, are you saying this is like a big dog and pony show?!!!!

I am.

[Stargazer09]

9. What the heck?

Not only does the guy steal from passengers, he feels the need to blame his wife for taking it home???

Okay, jackass, you deserve to not only lose your job over this, but also your marriage. You told a national news agency that your WIFE stole the iPad that YOU were seen stealing from the airport. If you said this on camera, you might want to find another place to sleep tonight.

I know I wouldn't tolerate that sort of behavior from my spouse.

[Liberalynn]

41. +1

[Javaman]

11. Shake down after a pat down. nt

[Shanti Mama]

15. High-end headphones stolen from bag with TSA-approved lock

Earlier this week I flew through JFK and on to an international flight. When I arrived at my destination I saw that the TSA-approved lock I'd used for the very first time was gone and the zipper on my checked back was not completely shut. There was no note re a TSA check of my bag and expensive headphones purchased by a friend to be brought to her at my destination were gone.

It is soooooooooooo frustrating because there is absolutely no recourse. The email reply I got from TSA said if there was no note indicating a search then no TSA person was in my bag. Period. End of discussion.

In the past I've used the plastic computer cable fasteners and will go back to them now. I think they don't shout out "valuables inside!"

[PavePusher]

34. Just because it was a TSA "approved" lock, doesn't mean the TSA removed it.

Non-TSA baggage theives are quite good at this as well.

Best bet is to use non-TSA locks (seriously, why would anyone use a Fucktard Agency approved security system?). Get a picture of the locked luggage at the airport, including your dated ticket/boarding pass in the photo. If the lock is missing at your destination, with no TSA notice, complain to them and the airline.

Fortunately, I almost always fly with a firearm in my checked luggage. This requires a non-TSA lock on the gun case and the outer case. If they want to open it, I am required to do so for them. I've never had any problems this way.

[Marrah_G]

16. That makes no sense

Why would his wife had had access to anything at the airport?

[Blue_Tires]

18. It's one of the dirty secrets

Airports are a longtime haven for thieves; not just TSA, but flight attendants, baggage handlers, parking lot attendants, etc. etc...

[bongbong]

20. TSA

I had a brand new (small) fan stolen out of my checked luggage by the TSA. They "thoughtfully" left a little brochure about the "threat" said fan presented. (I was traveling for an extended stay to a hot place where I knew it would be hard to buy a fan)

Now I only pack clothes in checked luggage.

[Quantess]

21. No kidding. They complain when people won't check in their luggage

and bring it on the plane instead. Well, we travelers have our reasons!

[marble falls]

24. Why not pat them down everytime they leave the area. Make them take off their shoes for a piss break

[LibDemAlways]

27. TSA screening jobs are "make work" for people who

otherwise would be asking "Would you like me to supersize that?" A high school diploma is not even a requirement. Theft aside, I fail to understand how these individuals are capable of making the skies safer. Bottom line is they aren't.

[flamingdem]

29. I have been saying this for years here - TSA is often corrupt

and they tried to steal my Mac, when I realized I'd left it they didn't want to return it to me and made me jump through hoops.

When I criticize them here they get defended! Too many bad apples in that bunch.

[avebury]

30. K&R nt

[not fooled]

33. Another trick

Last time I flew cross-country, the bottles of shampoo and conditioner in a checked bag were opened (caps unscrewed) by TSA and left open to spill all over the bag's contents. This was "punishment" for taking standard-sized original bottles with opaque sides rather than small, clear travel-sized containers.

Scum.

[armed_and_liberal]

36. stolen credit card number

3 years ago I was booked on a flight from NY LaGaurdia to Wilmington NC. Inside my luggage was a clear ziplock baggy with a few items including a credit card which I always keep separate when I travel in case I were to lose my wallet. I got a call in Wilmington that night from the bank who said they had detected a fraudulent charge on my account at a cell phone store in Queens NY. I filed a complaint with TSA, A couple weeks later I had an interview with an investigator who tried to convince me that I had used it earlier that day ( I hadn't used it in months) Over the next two months I received a couple of form letter updates and never heard from them again.

[harmonicon]

39. I'm sort of baffled by the responses here. ABC are the stupid assholes in this story.

They purposefully left shit behind and are then upset that it was taken? I say, no shit.

It's not anyone's job to try to track down people who leave things behind somewhere. Where else are people expected to do that? They have other jobs to do.

Someone left a hat at my work. I kept it under the counter for a few weeks, and then I threw it away. Someone left a nice camera behind, and I caught it before they were too far down the street, so I chased them down and gave it back. If someone left an ipad and I didn't catch it, I guess I'd spend a few minutes seeing if someone had a name, address, or phone number on it, but if it didn't and they didn't come after it in a few weeks, I'd take that fucker home. I can only assume this is how most people would act at most jobs. Fuck ABC.

[SoCalMusicLover]

43. Is This Post For Real?

Hopefully you are being VERY Sarcastic, otherwise you're just a turd.

The property should be turned in and held, anything else is THEFT in my book.

It doesn't matter if the person doesn't return in a few days/weeks/whatever. The property is not yours, and other than finding it after being left behind, what right do you have to it? IT IS NOT YOURS!

And we're not talking about someone leaving some change, or some toiletries. These were expensive IPads, and ABC should be applauded for exposing this BS, not criticized for doing an investigation.

[harmonicon]

44. That's it, I'm a turd.

Everyone should have added to their job description, "looking after shit that idiots are too stupid to keep track of" - every single fucking job. Every single operation involving employees should have dedicated unlimited storage for shit that morons can't keep ahold of which they may never come back for.