In yet another "isolated incident" - TSA officer accused of stealing laptops from lost & found

Bad apples are found in every part of life - but the Transportation Security Administration seems to have a lot of bad luck keeping bad apples out of their ranks.

On Monday, 40 year old Jennifer Steplight surrendered to face charges that she stole four laptops from a TSA lost and found facility, and that she covered up the theft by creating false records.

Steplight was in charge of maintaining the records for all lost and found items at Newark airport, and was employed as a Master Transportation Security Officer-Coordination Center Officer.

Despite the long and impressive title, she apparently couldn't resist helping herself to some of our belongings. In 2008, Steplight even received the Newark Liberty Airport "Consistency in Service" award.

She has now been charged with one count of embezzlement and one count of making false statements. If found guilty, she faces a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine for the embezzlement and five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the false statements.

[Image from Getty]

Filed under: North America, Airports, Travel Security