JFK workers busted for stealing from luggage

From CBS 2:

Seven John F. Kennedy International Airport baggage handlers were arrested Wednesday, on allegations that they stole out of travelers’ luggage.

As Dick Brennan reported, CBS2 got an exclusive look at the loot that baggage handlers were allegedly taking for themselves. The items included cellphones, iPads, laptops, jewelry and other items worth a grand total of more than $20,000.

The items were taken from travelers’ checked luggage between March 2012 and June 2014, Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said Wednesday.

“The defendants have been caught red handed and will now face the consequences of their alleged illegal acts,” said Brown.

“The defendants — who were hired to handle the baggage of those traveling in and out of Kennedy Airport — are alleged to have stolen computers, cell phones and other items from checked luggage with many of them selling the pilfered items to a pawn shop or to a ‘fence’ who was actually an undercover police officer,” Brown said.

The suspects are identified as Khaleed Maynard, 28, Sheldon Theodore, 22, and Ryan Phillips, 35, who worked for Swissport at Terminal 4; Levi Miller, 47, Romero Hendricks, 30, and Tihafade Esdaile, 29, who were employed by Aircraft Services International Group at Terminal 4; and Keston Austin, 31, who worked for G.S.I. at Terminal 7.

Each of the suspects face grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property charges, Brown said.