Two former Transportation Security Administration airport screeners pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court to pilfering passenger handbags at Sea-Tac Airport and stealing prescription narcotics.
John Woodbine, 40, and Sabina Ripka, 28, face up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine after admitting to on-the-job stealing, a misdemeanor offense.
An undercover agent with the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General ran a sting against Woodbine after officers spotted the two TSA screeners "taking pills from passengers," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Rich Cohen.
On Nov. 4, 2004, the undercover agent - posing as a disabled passenger - arrived at Woodbine's station for screening. He had in his carry-on baggage 30 OxyContin pills marked with a tiny red dot and dusted with anti-theft powder that glows under ultraviolet light.
Woodbine, while searching the bag, took several of the pills and placed them in his left front pants pocket, Cohen told U.S. Magistrate Judge Monica Benton. Cohen asserted that Woodbine stole pills on at least 20 occasions from other passengers.
About two weeks earlier, Ripka was observed taking 10 OxyContin pills from the purse of a passenger, Cohen said.
Ripka had taken pills from other passengers on five separate occasions, the prosecutor said.
Benton allowed Ripka and Woodbine to remain free under court supervision pending sentencing on Sept. 7.
"We don't like to see anybody act in a dishonest way," Cohen said. "But particularly federal employees who are given a position of trust."
Copyright 2005 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy
News stories provided by third parties are not edited by "Site Publication" staff. For suggestions and comments, please click the Contact link at the bottom of this page.
