Get Jail, Probation For JFK Theft
Two men formerly employed as Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at John F. Kennedy International Airport have been sentenced to jail after pleading guilty to thirddegree grand larceny and others charges for having removed $40,000 in cash from a piece of checked baggage.
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown identified the defendants as Coumar Persad, 44, of 89-50 56th Avenue in Elmhurst and Davon Webb, 31, of Barnes Avenue in the Bronx. They pleaded guilty last October to third-degree grand larceny, second-degree obstructing governmental administration and official misconduct before Queens Supreme Court Justice Fernando M. Camacho who sentenced each suspect last Tuesday, Jan. 10, to six months in jail and five years’ probation.
“The defendants who have admitted their guilt, acknowledging that they used their positions of trust to unjustly enrich themselves, have been held accountable for their actions,” Brown said. “Passengers must feel secure when they pass through our airports here in Queens County and know that they are not being targeted by those who would use their position of authority to steal their possessions.”
In pleading guilty, Persad and Webb admitted that, while Persad was x-raying a piece of baggage at approximately 7:25 p.m. on Jan. 30, 2011, inside Building 56 (American Airlines) at JFK International Airport, he noticed what appeared to be a bag of United States currency inside the bag.
Shortly thereafter, he phoned Webb, who was in a baggage belt area of American Airlines, and told him about the bag with the currency. Webb searched the bag and marked it with tape, then notified Persad that there was indeed money in the baggage.
Persad then swiped an identification card and entered the baggage handling system area, found the bag wrapped in tape, and observed what appeared to be approximately $170,000 in the bag. He then took some money from the bag and placed it into a box that he took to a nearby bathroom. Persad and Webb thereafter met in the bathroom and each took money from the box and hid it in their clothing.
The matter came to light when another Transportation Security Administration employee notified his supervisor, who reported the matter to the Port Authority Police
Both Persad and Webb admitted to stealing the money and they gave Port Authority police officers permission to search their homes, where the money was recovered.
Officers found $23,980 in U.S. currency at Persad’s home; he told the police that he had taken $20 to buy food.
In searching Webb’s residence, Port Authority police officers recovered $16,000 in U.S. currency.
Assistant District Attorney Carmencita N. Gutierrez, deputy bureau chief of the District Attorney’s Integrity Bureau, prosecuted the case under the supervision of James M. Liander, bureau chief, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney of the Investigations Division Peter A. Crusco and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Linda M. Cantoni.
