Looks like the bag screening in Philadelphia is about to get inspected by the FAA today.
Feds target airport security firm
October 12, 2001 Posted: 8:08 AM EDT (1208 GMT)
PHILADELPHIA (CNN) -- A company responsible for security at several of the nation's airports -- including those where four hijacked planes departed last month on terrorist missions -- still has employees with criminal records working for it, despite a court order to re-check all employee backgrounds.
The U.S. Justice Department announced Thursday it would pursue action against Atlanta-based Argenbright Security Inc., and the agency filed a petition in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia seeking to revoke the company's probation, imposed after sentencing.
No one at Argenbright was immediately available Friday for comment.
According to the petition, Argenbright hired dozens of criminals as "pre-departure screeners" at Philadelphia International Airport, failing to verify their backgrounds or criminal history and falsely certifying that those verifications had been done.
The revelation was "startling," the government said. The employees' criminal convictions ranged from theft and forgery to possession of a controlled substance, prostitution and criminal conspiracy.
Argenbright district manager Steven Saffer encouraged and permitted the training test scores of screeners to be falsified, and for phony high school graduation credentials (GEDs) to be created.
The company also allowed more than 1,300 untrained screeners to work at the Philadelphia airport during a period of more than four years.
Saffer and two other managers pleaded guilty in May 2000 to serious crimes involving the security violations, and the company was ordered to pay more than $1.5 million in fines and restitution as well as take steps to prevent the violations from recurring.
But the government said the "astonishing and widespread criminal activities" continued after the sentencing, and that Argenbright "has committed many new -- and serious -- violations" of Federal Aviation Administration regulations.
Argenbright is responsible for security at Philadelphia's airport and airports nationwide including Newark, Logan, O'Hare, and Dulles. Two planes used in the terrorist attacks were hijacked from Boston's Logan Airport and one plane each was hijacked from Washington's Dulles International Airport and New Jersey's Newark International Airport.
The action Thursday does not have anything to do with events of Sept. 11, but stems instead from a Jan. 1999 investigation into allegations that Argenbright had falsified background investigations at the airport.
"The action taken today against Argenbright is further evidence of this administration's commitment to the safety and security of the traveling public," said Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta.
Department of Transportation officials will travel to Philadelphia to conduct a series of inspections at the airport. Argenbright has already agreed to give up by the end of the month the company's contract to provide security to Philadelphia's airport, but if it fails the inspection Friday, the contract will end before that time, officials said.
Feds target airport security firm
October 12, 2001 Posted: 8:08 AM EDT (1208 GMT)
PHILADELPHIA (CNN) -- A company responsible for security at several of the nation's airports -- including those where four hijacked planes departed last month on terrorist missions -- still has employees with criminal records working for it, despite a court order to re-check all employee backgrounds.
The U.S. Justice Department announced Thursday it would pursue action against Atlanta-based Argenbright Security Inc., and the agency filed a petition in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia seeking to revoke the company's probation, imposed after sentencing.
No one at Argenbright was immediately available Friday for comment.
According to the petition, Argenbright hired dozens of criminals as "pre-departure screeners" at Philadelphia International Airport, failing to verify their backgrounds or criminal history and falsely certifying that those verifications had been done.
The revelation was "startling," the government said. The employees' criminal convictions ranged from theft and forgery to possession of a controlled substance, prostitution and criminal conspiracy.
Argenbright district manager Steven Saffer encouraged and permitted the training test scores of screeners to be falsified, and for phony high school graduation credentials (GEDs) to be created.
The company also allowed more than 1,300 untrained screeners to work at the Philadelphia airport during a period of more than four years.
Saffer and two other managers pleaded guilty in May 2000 to serious crimes involving the security violations, and the company was ordered to pay more than $1.5 million in fines and restitution as well as take steps to prevent the violations from recurring.
But the government said the "astonishing and widespread criminal activities" continued after the sentencing, and that Argenbright "has committed many new -- and serious -- violations" of Federal Aviation Administration regulations.
Argenbright is responsible for security at Philadelphia's airport and airports nationwide including Newark, Logan, O'Hare, and Dulles. Two planes used in the terrorist attacks were hijacked from Boston's Logan Airport and one plane each was hijacked from Washington's Dulles International Airport and New Jersey's Newark International Airport.
The action Thursday does not have anything to do with events of Sept. 11, but stems instead from a Jan. 1999 investigation into allegations that Argenbright had falsified background investigations at the airport.
"The action taken today against Argenbright is further evidence of this administration's commitment to the safety and security of the traveling public," said Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta.
Department of Transportation officials will travel to Philadelphia to conduct a series of inspections at the airport. Argenbright has already agreed to give up by the end of the month the company's contract to provide security to Philadelphia's airport, but if it fails the inspection Friday, the contract will end before that time, officials said.
