Posted on 07/08/2005 1:36:06 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
A former baggage handler at Baltimore-Washington International Airport admitted yesterday to stealing CDs, cameras and other items from the luggage of travelers - many of them soldiers serving overseas - and was chided by a judge who imposed a sentence in excess of state guidelines.
Shaka Nesta Watson, 20, was ordered to serve two years in prison for his role in a ring that is suspected of stealing thousands of dollars worth of electronics and military-related items from international travelers during 2004.
Watson pleaded guilty to one count of felony theft of a laptop computer from a civilian Air Canada traveler in a deal that Anne Arundel County prosecutors said they made because of the difficulty of bringing soldiers home from Afghanistan and Iraq to testify.
Calling the crime "appalling," Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge Michele D. Jaklitsch told Watson: "You single-handedly disrupted the lives of many in the military at a time when they are the most vulnerable."
She chided him for making other travelers feel less secure. Jaklitsch sentenced him to four years in prison, but suspended half of the term and added three years of supervised probation. The sentence tops state guidelines, which recommend no more than six months in jail.
Maryland Transportation Authority Police and prosecutors said they have hundreds of items they would like to reunite with owners - if only they knew who they are.
Watson, of Baltimore, said he needed the money and sought probation for his role in what authorities say was a three-man operation that stole more than 1,000 items from international travelers. The military uses BWI as a hub.
(Excerpt) Read more at baltimoresun.com ...
I know someone who works in the airport. Every time they pass the rampee's break station, they see literally hundreds of little bottles of shampoo that "fell" out of the bags.
My friend frequently does the Sgt Schulz "I see NNNOTHING!!" routine.
Imagine, a minimum wage government flunkie rifling through your luggage (that alone makes me want to throw away all my underwear and take a shower in bleach), and valuables end up "missing." I guess that's the trade-off one makes when we turn over national security to the same people that deliver the mail.
Good grief!
Minimum wage?
Minimum wage?My mistake. I'd imagine they are handsomely compensated. I believe they have some sort of collective bargaining set-up? Seems like an acquaintance that worked security at MCI mentioned something about his union.
I SERIOUSLY doubt they are minimum wage
"In his confession, Watson wrote that he realized the "stupidity of my actions. I apologize to the men and women of the United States military. I only did it too [sic] get some money to help my girlfriend and I with our financial situations, which doesn't make my actions okay but like I said I apologize."
His only financial situation was probobly paying for his crack habit He deserves much more time. And I am sure like most criminals he is only sorry he was caught. The military should have made at least a few of the soldiers available for trial considering the scope of this problem.
Another well-kept secret is the alarming frequency with which dead cats are found at the end of baggage conveyor belts.
If a cat gets out, it seems its first impulse is to hide at the end of the conveyor belt and never come out.
I see Wacko Moore has not commented, at his site, on the London bombings. He'll wait until he has come up with some BS, lying, wacko spin. At the moment, he has put up some links that give false impressions he supports finding the perps. Moore even quotes the President as a link:
"And the contrast couldn't be clearer between the intentions and the hearts of those of us who care deeply about human rights and human liberty, and those who kill..."
When you hire someone named Shaka Nester Watson you have to figure on losing a few things.
Cats!?
All they have to do is put a camera on the baggage handling and checked luggage inspection area. Film it and/or have someone watching the video.
I was an aircraft loader at JFK for five years. When you hire anyone you have to figure on losing a few things.
I travel frequently too. I NEVER check my bags. I dont want that type of "worker" to help themselves.The airports should videotape luggage handling areas during all loading and unloading.
For his punishment he should be thrown from a plane at altitude.
There was a case a few years back where an airport placed hundreds of video cameras in their parking garage. They didn't have someone sitting around montoring 100% of the cameras 100% of the time. They would typically use the cameras if there was a problem - like someone stole a car, and they could go back later and figure out who stole the car.
Someone was murdered in the parking garage. It was caught on the security cameras. But nobody noticed the murder was taking place at the time of the murder. So the airport was sued for millions of dollars and lost the lawsuit.
That sort of thing has a chilling effect on the implementation of security technology. Sure you can put in a camera for almost no money. But unless you pay someone $ 15 or $ 20 an hour to monitor the camera, you face a potential lawsuit. Then multiply that by 100 or 500 or 1000 cameras that it would take to properly monitor everything that could potentially happen in an airport.
If you did have all those cameras and many of them were aimed at airport employees, the civil libertarians and labor unions would come down on the airport like a ton of bricks. They'd scream "big brother" and "profiling" and "hostile work environment" so much that even if you caught someone on tape opening bags and shoveling stuff into their pockets, it could cost more to fire them than it would to keep them on the payroll for the rest of their lives.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.