Air Traffic Controller Caught With Crystal Meth, Loaded Guns: Police

WANTAGH, NY - A man who works as an air traffic controller at the New York Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility on Long Island was arrested Wednesday night after he was found to be in possession of drugs and loaded guns, police said.

Breen Peck, of Indiana, was arrested during a traffic stop in Wantagh around 10:22 p.m.

According to Nassau Police, Peck, 52, was driving a 2010 Toyota with dark tinted windows south on Willow Street when he turned left onto Byron Street without signaling.

Officers from the Criminal Intelligence Rapid Response Team pulled Peck over and during an investigation, Peck told the officers that he had a loaded handgun behind his driver’s seat and another gun in the rear cargo area of the car, neither of which he had permits for, police said.

Peck was taken into custody and while being searched, police said officers discovered a substance believed to be crystal methamphetamine in his front pants pocket.

Peck is charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a controlled substance and numerous traffic violations. He was due to be arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead on Thursday.

Peck is employed at the TRACON facility in Westbury, police said. That facility is responsible for directing air traffic at three major airports–John F. Kennedy International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport and LaGuardia Airport–as well as many smaller airports, including Long Island MacArthur Airport.