TSA Agents Steal 8 iPads from Passengers

To the TSA: I can’t leave you alone for 2 days without you making headlines again? First it was 8 sleep-related suspensions now it’s 8 iPads. Why can’t they just give me a break? Clayton Keith Dovel, a 35 year-old TSA agent in Dallas/ Forth Worth Airport, works the “behind the scenes” bag checking that takes place after its owner has gone through security.

Unwatched, agents in the “Resolution Room” are free to pretty much take what they want, yet we trust them not to make the wrong choice? Heck, had it not been for one passenger tracking his iPad to Dovel’s house, he’d still be committing these acts. Now, I believe in “innocent until proven guilty”, but there aren’t that many legal reasons why Dovel would have all those iPads in his house. He is currently on administrative leave while the investigation takes place. The TSA’s opinion on the matter: “The action of one individual in no way reflects on the outstanding job our more than 50,000 security officers do every day.” Well said. But what about two individuals? Or three? This past July, a TSA worker at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International was charged with two counts of grand theft (he stole more than $50,000 worth of electronics over a six-month period) and another L.A. TSA officer was indicted for stealing about $23,000 worth of watches and trying to sell them on eBay. Passengers will find comfort that some of these crooks are being caught, but should fear that some are still at large.