TSA officers charged with misconduct for not reporting discarded marijuana

NEWARK NJ May 5 2010 — Two security screeners at Newark Liberty International Airport were charged with official misconduct today, after officials said a surveillance video captured them throwing a bag of marijuana they had found on the terminal floor into the trash.

A spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration said the pair should have turned the drugs over to law enforcement authorities.

The screeners, Jean Francois, 49, and Alayah Morris, 24, were also charged with improper disposition of a controlled substance, said Ron Marsico, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the airport.

TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis said the agency is cooperating with Port Authority police, and conducting its own internal investigation.

“We don’t screen for drugs,” Davis said. “However, if in the course of screening activities we do discover illegal substances or drugs, we do report them to law enforcement.”

The pair were charged after Port Authority Police got an anonymous call at 7:15 a.m., reporting an incident on the secure side of Checkpoint 1 inside Terminal C. Officials said the marijuana appeared to have fallen out of the pocket of an unidentified man before several screeners briefly gathered around the bag, and Francois then directed Morris to throw it in the trash.

Mecca Scott, an organizer with the American Federation of Government Employees, a union representing about 600 screeners in Newark, said her organization would cooperate with authorities.

Robbers hide, spring into action www.privateofficer.com

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Robbers Hide In Store www.privateofficer.com

NEWARK NJ OCT 25, 2007

At the end of another busy day at the local K-Mart, workers were busy wrapping up their closing procedures when two men who had been hiding in the store after the store closed rushed out yelling and pointing guns.

Surveillance photos taken at the store, located at 301 College Square in Newark, showed the attempted robbery in progress.
Police said the two suspects hid in the store Sunday until it closed.
As the manager deposited the night’s receipts into a safe, they pulled out a gun and demanded the money. The manager screamed, and another employee came running.
Police said the two suspects ran away without taking anything.
Anyone who recognizes the suspects or has any information is asked to call Detective Maiura at 302-366-7110, ext. 152. Information can always be reported anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333.

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