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TSA agent helped himself to a $47,900 camera (and more!)
It's no secret that I'm not a fan of the TSA. While I fully understand the importance of keeping our planes and airports safe, I'm just not sure the TSA is up to the job. The agency is also plagued by bad PR, mainly because of incompetent staff members and insane decisions that impact us as travelers.The latest in a long lineup of bad press for the agency involves TSA screener Pythias Brown. This 48 year old resident of Maplewood, NJ was supposed to keep bad stuff off the plane, but instead, he was helping himself to valuable items from the bags of people entrusting him with their belongings.
Pythias started small, stealing cameras, laptop computers, gaming consoles and eventually moved on to the good stuff including a video camera belonging to CNN, and a $47,900 camera stored inside the bag of an HBO employee.
The items were sold on Ebay, and as you can see from his feedback listing, these were not cheap items.
His greed eventually came back to haunt him, when CNN found one of their cameras listed on Ebay. With a little help from the local police department and the USPS, Brown was apprehended.
When agents entered his house, they found 66 cameras, 31 laptop computers, jewelry, lenses, GPS devices and more.
The total value of the stolen items is well over $200,000, and if you have ever lost an expensive item when flying from Newark Liberty Airport, you'll be thrilled to hear that the TSA is taking the matter "seriously". News like this just reinforces the need to keep anything of value out of your checked bags.
Of course, this also makes me wonder just how on earth a TSA agent is able to leave the sterile area of his or her local airport with a $47,900 camera hidden in their bag. We passengers get screened, so perhaps it is time to start screening TSA staff when they enter and leave the airport?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 11)
sylvia Oct 10th 2008 6:15PM
Back reference? Although that ebay listing does give pause for thought!
zip Oct 11th 2008 2:38AM
Why do people put cameras, laptops and jewelry into checked luggage? Professional camera crews are of course another matter due to the amount of stuff they are carrying, but others should just put them in hand luggage.
Secondly, it's quite amusing that his co-workers didn't notice anything. I'm quite sure they don't screen and open the bags alone. I wouldn't be surprised if they were all in it.
bob Oct 13th 2008 5:25PM
I had a 2 week old digital camera stolen from sna orange county airport TSA people. It was the last photos of my terminal father. After much letter writing TSA in essence told me to pound sand. The need to go thru the same screening when leaving work.
mike Oct 13th 2008 5:46PM
You know y his co-workers didnt notice, cause they're probally on the take also.
Glen Oct 13th 2008 7:18PM
TSA workers often check bags alone. It happened to us a couple of weeks ago on the way to and from Florida.
eatahabanero Oct 13th 2008 7:40PM
Zip
I think you are right. I think we are just at the very tip of the iceberg on this one. Stay tuned.
Flamingo Oct 13th 2008 7:51PM
That’s because TSA pulls you to the side for a more thorough search separating you from your bag. That’s how I discovered my AT&T issued Laptop missing after boarding American Airlines in Miami...
Carol Nov 10th 2008 8:18AM
With great sadness and dismay did we here at the airport this morning look over the comments made by travelers. I am a retired History Teacher and have been an employee of TSA for the past two and a half years. I myself was very affected by 9/11 so when it came time for me to retire I thought maybe this we be one way that I could serve my country. My hiring standards were quite extensive as was my background checks and credit history. I have been very pleased with the professional and high standards that we maintain within our TSA organization here in Texas. We certainly are shocked and horrified by the behavior and criminal activity by this person at the New Jersey airport. He should be fired and given a trial and hopefully sent to jail. The items should be returned if possible. How this could happen ,I am at a loss. The security at the entire Newark Airport should be in question as should the people responsible for this individual. People need to remember that this is an organization comprised of over 60,000 employees. To think that everyone in a large population like this is going to be perfect is unreasonable. The bigger issue is of course how did he get there? how did it happen? and how can we insure that it never happens again?
Of course,the other issue is reflected in the comments made by travelers that are very painful to read, and that is the perception of a few ,of TSA as a whole. Before anyone writes anything else like this I wish that people would remember what it is that has brought us to this. Yes. it does seem silly to take off your shoes and yes I am sure that you are wondering what happens to your expensive perfume should you have to give it up, but really have you forgotten that awful morning when people with boxcutters took over planes and flew them into buildings and 3,000 everyday Americans lost their lives in appalling deaths. In August of 2006, Thugs tried to smuggle explosive materieals from England onto an aircraft in shampoos bottles. Their intent was to bring down the aircraft over a poplulated area. Richard Reed also an English citizen tried to blow a hole in an aircraft by lighting explosives in the soles of his shoes.
The majority of TSA employees, myself included,take their jobs very seriously. I feel really good when I leave work knowing that everyone leaving our airport is as safe as I can make them. I would feel secure knowing my family was flying out of this airport. I also know that everyone to a person here also feels the same. Travelers who come through our checkpoint thank us daily for the job that we do. Honestly, at the end of the day would any of you want to get on an aircraft with your family that had not been screened? That employee at Newark deserves your scorn but the majority of TSA employees care about their jobs and treat their responsibilty with care and dedication.
Dale Oct 13th 2008 2:30PM
I think making the TSA screening crew do their job out in public view would solve some of the problem. There seems to be nothing to do for the hour or more you wait for your flight...why not watch then check luggage from inside a glass box under you? A nice cat walk right over the top of them?
With 1000s of eyes watching? What would they do ... find a new job?
Richie Oct 13th 2008 2:12PM
Here is a big issue as well. Ebay is supposed too have checks and balances in place for unusual activity. Especially Pay-pal. There are 100s of horror stories out there where Pay-Pal (owned by Ebay) has frozen innocent peoples accounts and taken money back out of thier bank accounts for up too 6 months while they "investigate". Even if the buyer and seller contact Pay-Pal its not a scam they will still hold the money (you agree too that in the terms of service). So why cant they bust the real crooks?
kevin Oct 13th 2008 8:06PM
that is exactly why I do not do paypal! paypal stole money from me and what recourse do I have? nothing to get my money back, but I can warn everybody to do as I do and BOYCOTT PAYPAL
sunni Oct 13th 2008 2:16PM
I agree with Zip. I also want to know the degree of punishment because over $200,000 is a bit much 2 have a slap on the wrist.
How are the citizens to feel comfortable and trust the airlines now, if were are not worried about someone highjacking, we now have to worry about "ROBBIERS!" Judge should MAX him out on his sentence!! HE SHOULD BE SHAME AND GIVE A NATIONAL APOLOGY!
Dennis Oct 13th 2008 2:18PM
zip Sounds like your defending this morons decision to steal. Laptops, cameras ect. Stealing is Stealing. I wish they would have put this Moron's "Pythias Brown's"
picture on here and on TV 7 the news papers to SHAME hoim. Then again a Thief has No Shame!
sunni Oct 13th 2008 3:10PM
Zip is right, how many times have you heard of the airlines loosing luggage? Who in their right minds wouldn't keep their valuables close to them!? Seems to me Dennis you have not the right concept of what Zip meant by his statement.
Kim Oct 13th 2008 3:19PM
You want his picture? http://www.policelink.com/member/hersheybar88
There you go! ...and all it did was a little Google search.
eatahabanero Oct 13th 2008 7:41PM
Of course a thief has shame....when they get caught!
James L Barnes Oct 13th 2008 2:25PM
So they caught one TSA thief because he made a stupid mistake. What about the others that aren't making mistakes and also steal from passengers?
TSA's rules are designed to make you vulnerable to theft.
Take the rule regarding liquids being limited to no more than 3 ounces. I defy anyone to shop for travel size lotions, creams and liquids that come in 3 ounce bottles.
Almost every one of these "travel size" liquids are 3.5 ounces. How many of these confiscated items end up going home in the pockets of the TSA agents?
I wouldn't be nearly so anti-TSA if it were not for the many times I see screeners sitting at their monitor but directing there full attention to a buddy instead of what goes thru the machine.
Christina Oct 13th 2008 7:15PM
speaking about the sizes of bottles you can take on for liquids.. I had a friend who bought a small bottle of Victoria Secret lotion for a trip she was going on..the TSA took the lotion away from her because it was .5 over the limit and proceded to hand it to a lady TSA who then placed it in her pocket. My friend became so enraged at this that she demanded her lotion back, she told them that she wasn't giving the lotion that she PAID for that wasn't even used to some random person, if she couldn't have it then she wanted to throw it away herself. The TSA gave her back the lotion and pointed to a trash can and said here throw it away..my friend took it opened it up, poured it out and said there she can have it now. TAKE THAT!
jessica Oct 13th 2008 2:32PM
AS YOU CAN SEE HOMELAND SECURITY IS JUST A BUNCH OF CRIMINALS WITH PISTOLS AND ELECTRIC GUNS...A NORMAL PERSON WOULD NEVER RAID MEXICAN LADIES WORKING ON A CHICKEN PLANT, LEAVE THEIR KIDS ALONE AT THE SCHOOLS AND DEPORT THOSE LADIES TO SECRET CONCENTRATION CAMPS LOCATED IN TAYLOR, TEXAS..I MEAN..ONLY A CRIMINAL WOULD DO THIS!!!
Swa Oct 13th 2008 3:01PM
WHAT????? HUH????? What does this have to do with TSA thefts????????? nothing??