Developing: Pakistani Plane Escorted by UK Fighter Jets — 2 Men Arrested

Listen to the Buck Sexton Show Live on TheBlaze Radio

Crime

ABC News Catches TSA Officer With Missing iPad in Sting Operation

Sep. 28, 2012 11:35am Madeleine Morgenstern

Image source: ABC News

An ABC News investigation tracked a missing iPad to the home of a Transportation Security Administration officer in a case of alleged theft.

ABC purposely left behind 10 iPads at TSA checkpoints at airports around the country as part of an investigation into the agency’s problem with theft from passengers. In nine cases, the iPads were returned to their owners, but at one airport in Orlando, the iPad was not given back — and a tracking app later showed the tablet moving away from the airport to the home of the officer last seen handling it.

ABC waited 15 days, then showed up at the home of the officer, Andy Ramirez, to ask him about it. Ramirez denied knowing anything about the missing iPad until the news crew activated an alarm to sound on the device inside his home. Ramirez retrieved the iPad — and then blamed his wife.

“I’m so embarrassed,” he said. “My wife says she got the iPad and brought it home.”

The TSA told ABC that as of Wednesday, Ramirez was no longer employed with the agency and said in a statement it has “a zero-tolerance policy for theft and terminates any employee who is determined to have stolen from a passenger.”

The TSA also said 381 of its agents have been fired for theft between 2003 and 2012, including 11 so far this year.

A request for comment to the TSA was not immediately returned, including about ABC’s investigation tactics and how the agency plans to combat theft problems for the future.

Last week, a flight attendant in Oregon was arrested after a passenger also used a tracking app to find his missing iPad — a tracked it to her home. Wendy Ronelle Dye said she found the iPad on a seat and planned to turn it in, but police discovered she had also entered some of her personal information into it, including her husband’s birthday.

Benghazi, IRS, AP...What's next? Only TheBlaze TV offers the truth from Glenn Beck, Andrew Wilkow, and Real News from TheBlaze. Get instant access and a free trial here.

Back to The Blaze »

Comments (135)

izukiddin
Posted on September 28, 2012 at 1:21pm
Is this racial profiling or job profiling. Everyone knows TSA agents is Orlando are mainly latinos and everyone knows that TSA agents are barely employable. Why wasn’t Officer Ramirez arrested? Why did a latino turn on his esposa? All deez ques-schuns … I hab a head-aaaake …

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- WAKEUPUSA2012
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 3:30pm
  Because the TSA on purpose hires CRIMINALS! We live in a police state. the TSA and DHS are just here to get us use to it.
  
  http://www.infowars.com/whistleblower-tsa-deliberately-hiring-psychopathic-criminals/
  
  Report this comment
- aceboogie
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 4:43pm
  Man, I was wondering where all those illegals were working now that the construction jobs have dried up!!
  
  Report this comment
- Secret Squirrel
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 4:56pm
  .
  When the TSA tells me to put my billfold through the X-ray
  my answer is, “You’re dreaming.”
  
  Report this comment
- PIGSWILLNEVERFLY
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 5:55pm
  The TSA was set up to teach us to subjugate to authority. Which is what sharia will do to us all. It is slavery when you surrender your rights. I will not comply.
  
  Report this comment
- muffythetuffy
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 11:51pm
  How many little girls and young women did he get to grope every day. They are all criminal perverts and thieves. TSA must be ended immediately. Your chance of dying at the hands of a TSA criminal is greater than getting killed by a terrorist on a plane. Soon TSA will be shooting people with hollow point bullets if you dare complain.
  
  Report this comment
- pamh61
  Posted on September 29, 2012 at 1:55pm
  If the shoe fits…..
  It’s not racial profiling. It’s a new report. Get over it.
  
  Report this comment
Chuck7884
Posted on September 28, 2012 at 1:19pm
This all depends on your idea of theft.and the difference in finding items left behind.in most cases items left behind are never claimed and left in the lost in found boxes.It is not the airports responsibility to track down every individual that left something behind. what happens to these items and how long do you warehouse them and when do you sell off the items,The TSA agent did not take the item from the individual but merely found it.you can turn it in to lost in found in which if not claimed be sold or given to someone else.you’d be surprised how many valuable items that are left behind and then sold or given away sometime down the road.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- geminicontender
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 1:26pm
  Sorry Chuck…..just because it is there gives no one the right to take things. He is a thief. Simple. Isn’t it amazing how one can justify wrongful acts. Pathetic.
  
  Report this comment
- TAXEVERYONE
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 1:35pm
  Chuck, you and your twisted thinking is exactly why this once great country is in the toilet morally and ethically, if you know what those words mean.
  
  Report this comment
- oneshiner
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 1:40pm
  FINALLY………….the rest of the crapola is bad enough, but the thievery is beyond the pale. I’ve heard and have seen on TV clips of luggage handlers going through luggage on the way to the airplane to the point, if I couldn’t even lock my checked luggage, I didn’t want to fly anymore.
  
  I always tried to keep expensive stuff on my carry on, but the way the TSA goes through your carry on and your purse and try to turn away if you try to watch, I’ve had it with airlines. My mantra is: If I can’t drive I’m not going. Some of the stuff was stupid, but thievery is more than I’ll take from anyone. Bet they’re a bunch of thieves in the airline industry, just look at them.
  
  Report this comment
- P8riot
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 1:40pm
  For theft, you don’t need to know who it belongs to, you only need to know it doesn’t belong to you.
  
  Report this comment
- Chuck7884
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 1:43pm
  oops! should have seen the video first my bad that was definitely theft.not a case of lost and found which the article hinted at.
  
  Report this comment
- heyjim55
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 1:48pm
  Chuck maybe you should apply for a job with the Obama administration since your values are the same as theirs.
  
  Report this comment
- 00100111
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 1:56pm
  Rationalizing theft doesn’t make it not theft. Taking something that is not yours is theft, period. Because it was left behind doesn’t make it acceptable.
  
  Report this comment
- GardenoftheGods
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 2:10pm
  An Ipad cost over 1000 dollars now…you best believe people follow up on where they left their Ipad. We’re not talking a sweater or some small dollar item! I thank Apple for developing the App that allows you to track your “lost” items… Nice to see ABC doing something positive for a change!
  
  Report this comment
- Chuck7884
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 2:24pm
  as an individual i take the time to track down a give the item back if i can.otherwise i either leave it where i found it (hoping the owner backtracks and retrieve their item tor items) or if it is a valuable item turn it in to the police not knowing if the owner ever recovers the item.
  
  Report this comment
- grimmster
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 2:34pm
  @chuck aka encinom.
  You say you didnt watch the video, obviously you cant read either……..
  
  Report this comment
- Kenszen
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 2:45pm
  @P8triot Well said.
  
  Report this comment
- Mapache
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 2:45pm
  Left behind items should be turned in so if the owner tries to find it it can be returned. If the owner does not recover it, it is sold by the government at auction, In no way does it belong to a TSA agent.
  
  Report this comment
- theaton
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 2:50pm
  Chuck is as good at back-peddleing as Obama too.
  
  Report this comment
- just a patriot
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 3:07pm
  @ Chuck… The measure of a person is what they do when no one is looking….. A decent person rises to the occasion and does the right thing. A thief takes it with them.
  
  Report this comment
- kapnkd
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 3:18pm
  Not really, …procedures for handling lost & found (when I used to work for an airline) were strict about turning in ALL lost & found to be turned in, cataloged/logged in and held for a relatively lengthy period of time while all reasonable efforts were made to determine and locate the owners. Anything short of that was considered THEFT and grounds for IMMEDIATE dismissal.
  
  Report this comment
- mandmsgirl
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 3:22pm
  Last year a tsa agent took $100 out of my purse. He asked to see the purse 4 times while in the line and at one point he took it somewhere and then came back. When I got to the next city I reached into where I kept my money and found it was gone. It was shrugged off and no one ever did anything about it.I never carry anything of value anylonger.
  
  Report this comment
- martyinhagerstown
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 3:45pm
  Chuck, the TSA fired him.
  
  The feds never fire anybody so they must have A VERY CLEAR POLICY OF WHAT THEY WILL DO in certain cases. This fellow knew that policy… he probably attended 3 day seminars once a year on the public dole to learn about these policies.
  
  Maybe he should not have gone to the strip club during the seminar.
  
  Report this comment
- inc0gnit068
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 3:47pm
  I beg to differ. These days, “finding” a cell phone, iPad, or other PDA is very much akin to finding someone’s wallet. Keeping it for their own is the act of a total slimeball. If they don’t want the responsibility of returning it, then either they shouldn’t pick up or they should immediately turn it over to someone with a better moral compass than their own.
  
  Report this comment
- HI_Don
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 9:25pm
  Yea, that sounds logical…. In fact someone just left a brand new Audi on the street right in front of my work. Can you believe that? Wow, just walked off and left it, so I figure I can either take it to lost and found, where I doubt anyone would ever go looking for it, or just take it home and put it in my garage. Sounds reasonable.
  
  Then again, I know people who when they find a $10 bill on the sidewalk, will take it to the closest likely place where someone who dropped it might be, like the home at that address, or the restaurant etc. and insist on turning it in simply because it isn’t theirs. See, they feel that the definition of steeling isn’t about knowing who’s it is, but in knowing who’s it isn’t. Be nice if everyone understood that and could just leave stuff alone that isn’t theirs, like the government not insisting they have the right to take from one group and redistribute it to another under some idea of “fairness”.
  
  Report this comment
- nbarendt
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 11:51pm
  It is called values and dignity. What was left behind did it belong to any of these TSA people? I personally would not care if I turned something in and later it was given to someone else and not me as long as I knew I was doing the right thing by turning it in. If you think differently and would take what did not belong to you even though you “found” it then where ever you work they need to do some more serious background checks.
  
  Report this comment
- Panchogun
  Posted on September 29, 2012 at 1:49pm
  So Chuck, you apparently neither know what a thief is, nor what stealing is. It’s an interesting irony, but I would bet that since you don’t know what these two are, that you are prone to be a thief, and to steal. It’s called morality. In your case, a dictionary would be a good place to start. Begin by looking up thief and stealing.
  
  Report this comment
- snoopy
  Posted on September 29, 2012 at 1:57pm
  Chuck…
  In my book if you take ownership of something you did not buy with your own money, did not work for, OR have it given to you…YOU STOLE IT!!! YOU HAVE A PATHETIC LINE OF THINKING.
  
  Report this comment
- OllieK
  Posted on September 29, 2012 at 10:13pm
  You have a pretty twisted notion of private property there chuck. Just because someone forgot to take their private property, you have the right to keep it? Finders keepers is not the law, particularly where the object’s owner is readily identifiable.
  
  Report this comment
- strewth_cobber
  Posted on September 30, 2012 at 3:07am
  WOW, Chuck, what a pity that an airline company (and like most big companies, is a faceless entity) doesn’t have responsibility for their customers possessions and so on. Unlike citizens who can choose to be responsible and possess qualities of simple courtesy, decency, and honesty to do the right thing .
  Last week, I had to attend police station to be interviewed for my making a civil arrest of burglars who attempted to break into my neighbour’s house (home of a widowed-mother and young child).
  Here is the disappointing part: While waiting at police station, I was gobsmacked to hear this elderly man report that he found a wallet and only offered details of driver’s license (part of wallet/purse contents) to police. He didn’t hand over the wallet to police as he wanted to be contacted the wallet’s owner, in person, to be THANKED!! Fair enough that, maybe he should receive some gratitude for returning to owner, but to demand thanks is something else. To my thinking, he should’ve just handed it over to the police (perhaps the owner may have then contacted the old man and thanked him?) I guess, some others would have just keep the cash/credit card and discarded the rest, instead of do the good and right thing.
  So much for simple courtesy, decency, and honesty.
  And the funny part: The burglars want me arrested and charged with assault!
  
  Perilous times.
  Anyway, back to the news of WWIII (or IV?) in the making… never mind…
  
  Report this comment
Bryan
Posted on September 28, 2012 at 1:12pm
I think a full cavity search is needed for this TSA agent. Who knows what else he has hidden up in there!

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
SoCtNights
Posted on September 28, 2012 at 1:11pm
Just another entitlement…I mean benefit of the job.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- oneshiner
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 2:34pm
  Listening to Glenn Beck this morning: all thieves should go to hell.
  
  Report this comment
TheEndIsComing
Posted on September 28, 2012 at 1:01pm
“The dog ate my homework.” Blame it on his wife? What a slime! This needs to be broadcast nationally.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- theaton
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 2:43pm
  Unempolyed and probably divorced for an ipad.
  
  Report this comment
- conservativemom99
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 3:27pm
  His wife was at the door claiming responsibility as well…they had 30 seconds to come up with a story….she’s as guilty as he is…she knew all along. This isn’t their first rodeo…
  
  Report this comment
- DYNA
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 3:31pm
  “Blame it on his wife” sounds like Sharia law.
  
  Report this comment
- OllieK
  Posted on September 29, 2012 at 10:16pm
  And his house should be searched. God knows what else he may have glommed from peoples’ luggage.
  
  Report this comment
QuincySmith
Posted on September 28, 2012 at 12:53pm
It seems that tsa agents need to go through full-body scanners, and pat-down as they leave work.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- FieldJudge
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 1:45pm
  Actually THEENDISCOMING you really are on to something here with your smart and insightful twist on the overzealous TSA. Your jest should become a campaign brought on by the We the people who have been harassed and subjugated beyond reason and basic common sense.
  
  Yes, I can see The End Is Coming to the TSA’s one direction pat down screenings.
  
  Would designated frequent flyers on stand by, flight delays or layovers be willing to screen TSA employees as they clock out just past the no re-entry employee doors? Think we could attract a few volunteers? You betcha! ; )
  
  Report this comment
- QuincySmith
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 3:20pm
  I like your suggestion as to who would screen off duty tsa agents. Yes, I like that a lot.
  
  Report this comment
Ed_Kel
Posted on September 28, 2012 at 12:52pm
Even a 2 year old would know to reset and restore the device! This guy deserves to loose his job due to complete stupidity.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- LetUsReason
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 1:36pm
  That’s the spirit, Ed! Punish him, if only because he did not know how to properly deceive others. Oh man, if only he would have been better at falsifying integrity. Poor TSA agent. Now he deserves what he gets.
  
  Report this comment
- theaton
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 2:52pm
  Is Ed related to Chuck7884
  
  Report this comment
dnha14
Posted on September 28, 2012 at 12:52pm
Yeah the TSA sucks, but ABC PURPOSELY left the ipads. It’s not like the agents stole them out of bags. I think it’s called entrapment to try and get a story where none exists. Wow did I just defend the TSA. I’ll never be able to forgive myself.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- PhotoLizard
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 1:27pm
  Agents do steal out of bags. I have had photo equipment go missing from my cases in travel and the airline/TSA just shrugs its shoulders. Every time you travel by air you now need to consider losing your valuables to airport security.
  
  Report this comment
- OhioRifleman
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 1:29pm
  @ DNHA
  
  Entrapment is forcing someone to do something, then charging them with that action you forced them to do.
  
  Baiting someone (shown here) is putting something in front of someone, to test if they do something illegal.
  
  If he/she had not committed a crime, there would have not been a story here. If it was turned into L&F as was policy, she would not have been sj1tcanned.
  
  The major difference here is that she was not trapped into doing it. She had all manner of option to NOT do it — and she did it anyway. This is the same thing as a Bait Car, only with iPads.
  
  Report this comment
Pittakos
Posted on September 28, 2012 at 12:49pm
OK, OK, OK. There are bad apples everywhere in every profession. Notice that of the 10 iPads left at security check points, nine of them were returned! I do a lot of traveling and almost always I find the TSA agents to be pleasant. I always smile at them, chat with them and treat them like human beings and guess what? Karma gets returned. They are just doing a job and most of them are pretty decent people. Yes, there are a few bad ones and you’ll find that anywhere.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- QuincySmith
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 1:02pm
  Pittakos;
  
  I guess you would feel save traveling on an airline whose pilot core had 90% who could actually fly.
  
  Report this comment
- My Two Cents
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 1:07pm
  Make sure they say Simon Says when they yell FREEZE!
  
  Report this comment
- 00100111
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 1:59pm
  Does it tickle when they stick their fingers inside you?
  
  Report this comment
LeadNotFollow
Posted on September 28, 2012 at 12:43pm
…
What did you expect from a Muslim trained Hispanic TSA agent?
He was caught red-handed and still continued to deny stealing it.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Joel Knows
Posted on September 28, 2012 at 12:33pm
The TSA was just a very , very , very bad idea.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- southernORcobra
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 12:47pm
  not a bad idea just badly run
  
  Report this comment
- theaton
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 2:55pm
  Not as bad as us seeing how corrupt they are and doing nothing?
  
  Report this comment
- QuincySmith
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 3:22pm
  No, Southern, a really, really bad idea, granted poorly run, but still a bad idea.
  
  Report this comment
- Bay0Wulf
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 5:34pm
  The TSA has been populated very haphazardly by people who have poor track records and shady backgrounds. Many of these “agents” couldn’t make it into a Security Guard job with their backgrounds. How is it that we are supposed to feel reassured by the presence of poorly trained and poorly investigated “authority figures”? Given the alleged (and actual) importance of their jobs how is it that so many of them are crumbums? It seems that anyone applying for a job of this nature would be very carefully scrutinized.
  
  As an aside, the guy was terminated but I didn’t read anything about charges being pressed by the TSA for the deliberate criminal act of the agent.
  
  As to whether 90% is an acceptable percentage of “doing the right thing” is concerned … try this … say that every hour over 2000 people enter the system … well, “only” 200 of them would be screwed over … how’s that for odds?
  
  Report this comment
WhatTheHuh
Posted on September 28, 2012 at 12:32pm
I think it’s sad that people so easily rationalize theft nowadays. To think somebody could steal an item worth hundreds of dollars and not feel a twinge of guilt doing it. There’s not even the smallest bit of empathy for the person they are doing it to. How would they feel misplacing an expensive item and knowing that the probability of getting it back is nil because a lot people think finding stuff like that is akin to winning the lottery? Thank goodness for that app – doing the job of keeping people honest because most people just aren’t wired that way anymore.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
jrcess
Posted on September 28, 2012 at 12:17pm
Anyone that has been through an airport sees and knows the TSA is a bunch of derilict morons. Most of them probably have been arrested for stealing.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
sparkyrules
Posted on September 28, 2012 at 12:07pm
Its about time!NOW THEN ,take that piece of paper/certificate that says ‘I’M A JOURNALIST’ and go after the mass corruption in government.Your days will be filled with angst,anger,fear and much dismay.But you can go home and be assured that your day wasn’t wasted.You are doing THE PEOPLES WORK.And WE ALL love you for that.USA

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
razhunter100
Posted on September 28, 2012 at 12:07pm
Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra,

need more funnies…been a dam depressing morning so far.

thanks in advance.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
goldfinger50
Posted on September 28, 2012 at 12:06pm
The most important thing is that Brian Ross never reported and that is did Brian find out if Ramirez is a member of the Tea Party.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Tickdog
Posted on September 28, 2012 at 12:03pm
That was AWESOME!!! love stuff like that! and to think i have flown in and out of Orlando numerous times without a single problem.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on September 28, 2012 at 12:02pm
Ain’t karma a bitch. I HATE thieves. I have three girls and so many electronic items have been stolen from them that we had to ban them from taking them to school. I’m glad that Apple put Find My iPad on their devices so they can catch these dirty, rotten, thieves. I have it on all my girls iPods, and have GadgetTrak on their laptops.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Joe_The_Patriot
Posted on September 28, 2012 at 11:58am
They strip us of our freedom, our dignity and now our personal belongings… We need to strip them of their power and their jobs!!!!

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- LeadNotFollow
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 12:44pm
  …
  Amen!
  
  Report this comment
19sleep19
Posted on September 28, 2012 at 11:58am
Clearly a RACIST investigation…picking on the Hispanic TSA agent. HAHAHAHA

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
I SPY
Posted on September 28, 2012 at 11:57am
I’m surprised the TSA actually fired him… or did they? Hmmmm.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- capitalismrocks
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 12:09pm
  He’s union, he’s not fired, now he gets to sit home with full pay and benefits — I HATE UNIONS! They destroy this country!!!
  
  Report this comment
RightUnite
Posted on September 28, 2012 at 11:50am
Oh, the stupidity of some people usually is their downfall.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- QuincySmith
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 12:56pm
  And pride (which precedes the fall).
  
  Report this comment
SamIamTwo
Posted on September 28, 2012 at 11:45am
muwahahahhaahaha.

Adam says to God, the woman made me do it…LOL

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- SamIamTwo
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 11:47am
  the woman you gave me, made me do it…
  
  LOL…blaming God and the woman…human nature.
  
  Report this comment
- ShakeTheBaby
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 5:33pm
  Adam told GOD the he wanted someone to talk to besides the animals, someone like him. GOD answered his prayer but informed Adam that to do this would be costly; a leg would have to be given. Adam thought about it for a while then asked… “What can I get for a rib?”
  
  It’s just a JOKE! (I can feel the blood pressures going up)
  
  Report this comment
Dirty Harry
Posted on September 28, 2012 at 11:42am
Cultural. They think nothing of stealing.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- poster
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 2:56pm
  Yes — it is a “cultural” thing. Just like the “local youths” beating up innocent people on the street – “cultural”. It looks like the MSM has created a their own code word. They can’t even give a description of a suspect anymore. They can only report, “Local youths” savagely beat….” “Several local youths ransacked a 7-11 today…”
  
  Report this comment
biohazard23
Posted on September 28, 2012 at 11:38am
Theft by agent = bad
molestation by agent = all good

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 12:00pm
  To summarize what you said…..to steal your property, bad, to steal your dignity, part of the job.
  
  Report this comment
- biohazard23
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 12:26pm
  Bingo. :)
  
  Report this comment
- The-Monk
  Posted on September 28, 2012 at 1:38pm
  TSA….. The Stealing Authority
  
  Report this comment

It appears that you have Javascript Disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser preferences for a better user experience on TheBlaze. You can not comment without Javascript enabled.