Airport security sweeps lead to dozens of arrests

Two dozen employees, including 11 from Queens, who were looking for jobs at John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport, were charged with falsifying security applications by not disclosing prior criminal convictions.
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown and Port Authority Director of Public Safety/Superintendent of Police Samuel J. Plumeri Jr. announced these disturbing findings last week.
“In this age of terrorist threats and heightened security it is vitally important that those employed at our City’s two major airports be above reproach in order to protect the safety of the traveling public,” Brown said. “This includes employees with access to secure areas, as well as those who work beyond security check points, such as those employed at retail outlets and restaurants. Moreover, employers who do business at the airports have a legitimate need to know whether prospective employees have relevant criminal convictions before entrusting such individuals with responsibilities within their companies.”
Two western Queens residents, Michael O’Connell, 40, of Ridgewood and Herbert Pena, 35, of Woodhaven were two of the 11 Queens residents who have been charged lying about past criminal convictions.
The defendants when asked on their Security Identification Display Area application form if they had ever been convicted of a crime indicated that they had not according to the charges. However, the complaints charge that many of the defendants have numerous convictions, including weapons and narcotics possession and robbery.
Brown explained that when an applicant applies for a job at the airport, he/she must fill out an application for a Security Identification Display Area (SIDA) badge in addition to an individual company’s job application form. The badge allows the holder access to secure areas at JFK and LaGuardia airports. Those areas include aircraft parking and maintenance areas, the tarmac and ramp, cargo storage facilities, and passenger and baggage screening areas.
“In the course of conducting thorough criminal background checks required to obtain access to secure areas of JFK Airport, Port Authority Police found discrepancies in a number of applications that were submitted and denied,” said Port Authority Director of Public Safety/Superintendent of Police Samuel J. Plumeri Jr.
The defendants are each being held pending arraignment in Queens Criminal Court in Kew Gardens on a charge of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, a Class E felony punishable by up to four years in prison.
“We remain committed to working with the Queens District Attorney’s Office to ensure criminals are brought to justice,” Plumeri said.