The internet is outraged by a video that shows two Transport Security Administration (TSA) officers stealing from travelers’ bags at Miami International Airport.
The video, which has been circulating on social media, reveals how the officers collaborated to take cash and other valuables from wallets and purses that were sent to the X-ray machine. The video was taken on June 29 this year, but it has only come to light recently.
The officers, who have been named as Josue Gonzalez, 20, and Labarrius Williams, 33, were arrested in July after law enforcement officials investigated the reports of theft at the airport.
According to The New York Post, they are reported to have taken a minimum of $600 in cash and various belongings from passengers’ luggage.
Fox News reported that they were initially charged with an organized scheme to defraud, along with another officer named Elizabeth Fuster, who was later cleared of the charges.
Gonzalez and Williams have admitted to committing ‘numerous thefts’ from travelers, acknowledging that they stole an average of $1,000 per day while working together. Despite their admissions, they have pleaded not guilty to the third-degree felony grand theft charges filed against them.
The TSA said that the officers have been removed from screening duties pending the outcome of the investigation and administrative actions. The agency also issued a statement saying that it has no tolerance for misconduct in the workplace and holds its officers to the highest professional and ethical standards.
‘The Transportation Security Administration holds its Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) to the highest professional and ethical standards and has no tolerance for misconduct in the workplace.”
‘‘We actively and aggressively investigated these misconduct allegations and presented our findings to the Miami Dade Police Department, and are working closely with them. Any employee who fails to meet our fundamental ethical standards is held accountable,’’ the statement said.
