By Courtney Dentch
The Transportation Safety Administration workers were investigated by undercover detectives after a number of passengers – including celebrities Chevy Chase, Susan Lucci and Joan Rivers – filed complaints that items were missing from their bags, a law enforcement source said.”The defendants are accused of betraying their oath to protect our nation's air transportation system and the trust of the thousands of dedicated TSA agents who faithfully carry out their responsibilities each day,” Brown said in a statement. Clarence Henry, 51, of Brooklyn, was arrested Aug. 6 while he was on duty at Kennedy Airport, the district attorney said. The LaGuardia screeners – Bronx resident Jamie Maldonado, 42; Nelson Caraballo, 41, of Brooklyn; and Carmita Williams, 42, of Brooklyn – were arrested Aug. 11, Brown said.The four were arrested on charges of stealing from luggage they were supposed to inspect as part of their responsibilities with the TSA, the DA said. The screeners' job is to remove contraband items from bags during the security checks.The screeners were placed under surveillance since at least February after passengers on Continental and American airlines complained items were missing. Search warrants executed at the defendants' homes after their arrests Aug. 11 yielded a cache of electronic equipment, including computers, cameras, cell phones and Palm Pilot-style devices as well as designer handbags and jewelry and more, Brown told a news conference at Kennedy Airport Friday.Among the items allegedly pilfered by Maldonado was a Vacheron Constantin watch, valued at more than $25,000, Brown said.Authorities had not completed a full inventory of the recovered loot by Friday, but the items could easily be worth several hundreds of thousands of dollars, said George Johansen, first deputy superintendent with the Port Authority Police Department.But money may not have been the ultimate goal behind the thefts, some Port Authority investigators said Friday. Detectives carrying out the search warrant found dozens of laptop computers, cameras and other items believed to have been stolen from bags piled in a spare bedroom in Caraballo's home, a source close to the investigation said. Investigators reportedly found a drawer filled with small folding utility knives in Maldonado's home, he said.”Why would you take 12 travel alarm clocks?” the investigator asked, referring to charges against Maldonado. “It just becomes a sickness.”Henry was arraigned last week in State Supreme Court in Kew Gardens and was released on $5,000 bail, Brown said. He could face seven years in prison if convicted of the petit larceny, misconduct, tampering and possession charges against him.Maldonado, Caraballo and Williams were arraigned last Thursday in the Queens courthouse. Bail was set at $5,000 for Maldonado and Caraballo, and $1,000 for Williams, a spokeswoman for the DA said. All three are facing four years in jail if convicted, the DA said.Authorities were working to return items to their rightful owners, Johansen said. Passengers who traveled through Kennedy or LaGuardia airports after November 2002 and who think their belongings may have been taken were asked to call the PAPD at 718-244-4300. Owners will be asked for serial numbers or other identifying features to ensure the property is theirs.Reach reporter Courtney Dentch by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 138.
