By Sadef Ali Kully
JAMAICA — A former Transportation Security Administration screener at JFK airport was charged last Friday with grand larceny for allegedly stealing a passenger’s diamond watch, the Queens district attorney announced.
Margo Grant-Louree, 41, from Brooklyn was charged with grand larceny and official misconduct, the DA said. If convicted, Grant-Louree faces up to seven years in prison.
According to the criminal complaint, a passenger going through the Terminal 7 security checkpoint at the airport Aug. 26 placed his Diamond Master watch in a plastic bin and proceeded to go through the security screening. The passenger apparently forgot the expensive watch.
Video surveillance of the screening area allegedly shows Grant-Louree pick up the watch and then walk away, the complaint said.
In the criminal complaint, Grant-Louree allegedly admitted taking the watch and going into the bathroom with it. She allegedly stated she became nervous when she saw her co-workers searching for the missing watch. Grant-Louree left the area again and is alleged to have said she destroyed the watch that is valued at more than $7,000, according to the DA. Afterwards she resigned her position with the TSA.
