SAN ANTONIO --
A federal grand jury has indicted 10 people in connection with an airline ticket distribution ring involving thousands of stolen tickets from Southwest Airlines.
One of those indicted, Mark Gudanowski, is a longtime driver and investigator for Bexar County District Attorney Susan Reed.
"He wasn't in the first round of indictments," Reed said of Gudanowski. "He had always contended he had no idea that these were unauthorized."
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The tickets were stolen by former Southwest Airlines employee Althea Jackson, who was convicted of wire fraud in 2006, along with her husband, James Jackson. Federal authorities believe Gudanowski took part in the plan by taking the stolen tickets and agreeing to lie if questioned by the airline, according to the indictment.
Several of the 5,600 non-revenue, must-ride tickets stolen by Jackson were used by various Bexar County judges and Reed, none of whom have been indicted.
"Of course, it's not a situation I like being in any stretch of the imagination, but if you look at it from my perspective, it did not set off alarms," Reed said. "This happened over a three-year period (and we're) talking something about three tickets."
The tickets were supposed to be used by airlines as a token of the airline's gratitude, according to the indictment.
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