Could there be a connection???
Posted on 02/12/2002 10:49:54 AM PST by Shermy
Richard Bizzaro claims that when three young men in street clothes took control of a commercial airliner bound for Salt Lake City, he believed they were hijackers posing as sky marshals. And he wasn't going to let them get away with it. "I believed I was witnessing a hijacking of our airplane," Bizzaro said Monday in his first public statement since he was charged two days earlier with felony interference with a flight crew.
But when the Park City man's Delta Air Lines flight from Los Angeles touched down Saturday night, he was the one arrested by the same trio of federal agents, who had taken over the flight after Bizzaro improperly left his seat. "I believe the situation was aggravated by my and other people's attitudes prompted by the Sept. 11 attacks where we are all fearful of one another," Bizzaro said in a written statement in which he apologized for his actions.
About 30 minutes before landing, Bizzaro, who happened to have appeared on an in-flight video feature about his business, left his first-class seat and went to the restroom. Under Olympic security rules, passengers on commercial flights into Salt Lake City may not leave their seats during the final half-hour in the air.
Bizzaro, a frequent traveler, said he had never heard the restriction announced before, and no one stopped him when he stood up. When he exited the restroom, Bizzaro said he was confronted by a flight attendant, whose comments he interpreted as rudeness. "I now know she was just doing her job," Bizzaro said.
Federal prosecutors say he intimidated the attendant with his stares and his size -- 6 feet, 2 inches and 235 pounds. After he finally sat down, Bizzaro was seen giving a "thumbs up" to a pair of passengers, an FBI agent alleges. Bizzaro, 59, vehemently denies that allegation and says the three air marshals looked young enough to be his grandchildren and may have had fake badges. One marshal was wearing a baseball cap backward, he added.
"They did not give the appearance they were law enforcement officers and I did not pay them the proper respect," Bizzaro said. "I overheard conversations between the young men that they were observing something going on at the back of the plane. It did not occur to me that I was seen as the problem until I was informed afterwards."
The agents said Bizzaro continually looked at the coach cabin, making his behavior appear suspicious. Bizzaro's attorney, Max Wheeler, said his client looked back because "he thought a hijacking was going on in the back of the plane."
After he demanded a closer look at the badges, he realized they were real and began to comply, Wheeler said.
Until that time, he said, Bizzaro was thinking he may have to take action against the trio as the passengers appear to have done on the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania on Sept. 11.
U.S. Attorney Paul Warner wasn't sounding mollified on Monday, two days after he charged Bizzaro with a federal crime that could net him up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
"This is an important point: We're taking a heightened look at anything that appears to have an impact on the safety and security of the Games," Warner said.
Bizzaro is CEO of Unicity Network of Orem, a multilevel marketing company with $100 million in annual sales of herbal supplements. The company was featured in an in-flight CNN news segment. Bizzaro found it "kind of surreal," Wheeler said. "He was arrested just after seeing his business featured on the flight."
Tribune reporter Kevin Cantera contributed to this report.
Well he's had several days to come up with one so I would hope it was good. Based on the various accounts I've read, it does sound like he's spinning. Whether the 30 minute potty break rule is a good one is rather beside the point. After everyone's story has been analyzed, my guess is that we'll see he was being an arrogant SOB and the marshalls were being overly cautious.
Lock him up, and throw away the key!
I don't know about this. I flew Southwest recently from Houston to Birmingham and back.
Right before landing in Birmingham, they said "You have 5 mins to use the bathroom before you must be in your seat."
Nothing about a rule, or anything.
On the return flight they never mentioned it at all.
Of course he sounds reasonable. $1000/hour lawyers get paid to make you sound perfectly reasonable after you do something that is not reasonable.
No smiling at bureaucratic zeal or it's...'assume the position,punk!'...not so LOL. ;^(
It's sad to see a once free people submit to these self-important whackos.
I read the article. Bizzarro is spinning to save his rear. I consider the flight attendants, pilots and the air marshalls the good guys. They've seen colleague's throats slit and planes full of innocent passengers careened into buildings full of more innocent people. Layers of security are necessary-the airports are too big. You have the freedom in America to either follow the rules in the airports and on the planes or take your transportation elsewhere.
Shudda just opened the door and tossed him out...
Because -----he's Mr. Bizzaro!
Shouldn't mix herbal supplements and alcohol. Viewing the video lauding himself amid a captured audience is an interesting twist.
Could there be a connection???
None of us do therefore I side with the stewardess' and the sky marshals.
All of the "watch out or Big Brother will make the sky fall" Liber[al]tarians can side with "cant hold it" idiot boy.
Now that's real comforting to know they are stockpiling air marshals for our safety. Originally there wasn't even going to be enough to secure every flight - the possibility one may be onboard was supposed to be enough of a deterrent. So where do they get all of these air marshals from? How were they trained so quickly? At this rate there will be more air marshals than flight attendants. Sounds rather brownshirt-ish to me.
Sorry, this is what I am refering to. I have no Idea what the last part means...
There has been a lot of talk about how many air marshalls it would take to be on so many flights, and there aren't enough of them to go around. How, then, did this flight get three at once?
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.