Alexandra Schmid: Newark TSA agent arrested for stealing $5K from passenger
CASSANDRA GARRISON
In yet another embarrassing moment for the Transportation Security Administration, an agent at Newark Airport was busted for stealing thousands of dollars in cash from a passenger who was being screened.
TSA employee Alexandra Schmid, 31, was caught on surveillance video taking $5,000 from the jacket of a Bangladeshi man who had placed it on the belt for the x-ray scanning machine, according to the Port Authority. The man noticed the money was missing as soon as he retrieved his jacket.
Schmid is accused of removing the money from the jacket, slipping it inside a latex glove and then taking it to the restroom. She is charged with grand larceny. A Port Authority official told Metro the cash has not yet been recovered. Schmid is also being investigated in connection with other thefts of the same manner at the airport.
On Monday, federal officials launched a probe into security operations at the airport. Eight workers were suspended for misconduct including stealing, sleeping on the job, or failure to properly screen baggage, according to the New York Post.
Another embarrassing gaffe came to light in December after rapper Freddie Gibbs said the TSA found marijuana in his luggage but didn't remove it. Gibbs tweeted a photo of a note he claimed was written by a TSA agent on a baggage inspection notice that stated "C'Mon Son."
Another photo went viral in October after a blogger claimed she found a hand written note next to the vibrator inside her luggage that read "GET YOUR FREAK ON GIRL." The TSA issued an apology to the passenger and said the agent responsible was disciplined.