Posted on 11/14/2008 11:36:50 AM PST by BGHater
Dozens of federal air marshals charged with protecting the public from airplane terrorists have themselves been accused of criminal wrongdoing, including 18 who were charged with felonies.
The tally comes from an investigation by the investigative journalism group ProPublica. Its story says marshals have been accused of aiding a human trafficking ring, smuggling drugs and money, trying to hire a hitman and trying to smuggle explosives from Afghanistan.
"Since 9/11, air marshals have taken bribes, committed bank fraud, hired an escort while on layover and doctored hotel receipts to pad expenses, records show,” the story reports. They have also “used their weapons imprudently.”
The story says one marshal pulled his gun in a dispute over a parking place. Another discharged his gun in a Las Vegas hotel room. Yet another left his gun in a plane lavatory; a teenager found the weapon.
(Excerpt) Read more at abajournal.com ...
Air Marshals' Crimes Raise Hiring Questions
"Shawn Nguyen bragged that he could sneak anything past airport security using his top-secret clearance as a federal air marshal. And for months, he smuggled cocaine and drug money onto flights across the country, boasting to an FBI informant that he was "the man with the golden badge."
Michael McGowan used his position as an air marshal to lure a young boy to his hotel room, where he showed him child porn, took pictures of him naked and sexually abused him.
When Brian "Cooter" Phelps wanted his ex-wife to disappear, he called a fellow air marshal and tried to hire a hit man nicknamed "the Crucifixer.""
One of the few “moderate” stories done by the extreme liberal ProPublica group.
I’d ban article linked to them as a rule. Showing a “moderate” report will only legitimize their smears on conservatives in the next story.
Sounds like UN peacekeepers to me.
These guys are poster boys for the notion that power corrupts.
Or agents of the BATF.
Oh, wait... nobody's dog got shot.
Its always good to note how many Air Marshall’s there are, and consider this in terms of percentages.
Out of every 100 people you pick at random, five will have conviction records, for example. The rest have never been arrested, let alone convicted of a crime.
I have no doubt there are some ethically challenged creeps among the Air Marshalls. I also have no doubt its a tiny percentage of the whole, just as in any other profession.
Post #10 is brilliant.
/for later
I only know one air marshall. He is a professional and a guy I trust completely. Before he became a one he was a harbor master after retiring from the Coast Guard. There are likely some bad apples just as you find that in every profession. The bad ones must be removed and the good ones encouraged.
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