Newark airport security screeners charged with stealing from Indian women passengers

Newark: The two security screeners at Newark Liberty International Airport stole up to $700 every time they worked, furtively grabbing hundred dollar bills from carry-on luggage belonging to women flying home to India, authorities said.
They joked about wanting to steal in front of their supervisors and brazenly split up the cash under the watch of an airport security camera. On one occasion, the chief suspect looked up at the camera and raised his middle finger, authorities said.
"If I find an envelope, I’m taking it. I swear to my kids," said the screener, Michael Arato, according to a criminal complaint filed today in federal court in Newark.
The 41-year-old TSA supervisor was arrested Tuesday on charges of embezzlement and other crimes for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars from passengers as they shuffled through security checkpoints at the airport’s Terminal B to board AirIndia flights between Sept. 13 and Oct. 5.
The charges against Arato, of Ewing, come after his alleged co-conspirator spent a month secretly cooperating with investigators from the Port Authority Police Department and the Department of Homeland Security.
Arato and his alleged accomplice have worked as screeners at the airport since 2002 and began stealing from passengers at least a year ago, taking an average of $400 to $700 per shift, authorities said. Both men allegedly took money, sometimes operating in tandem as one distracted the passenger and the other grabbed the money. As a supervisor, Arato demanded his subordinate give him half of everything he stole, authorities said.
They primarily targeted non-English speaking women boarding a non-stop flight to India that departs Newark each night at 6:20, rifling through their bags for wads of cash, then peeling off a few bills in hopes they wouldn’t immediately be missed, authorities said.
At one point, Arato allegedly said he didn’t mind stealing, saying he was angry at the women for "leaving this country with our money," according to the complaint.
19/10/10 NJ.com, US

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Categories: airports Oct 2010, Foreign Oct 2010