Philly Airport Employee Admits To Sneaking Cash Past TSA Security

PHILADELPHIA — An airline employee at the Philadelphia International Airport recently pleaded guilty to evading security at the airport, federal authorities said.

United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero said Lester Santana III, 34, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty Friday in federal court to one count of evading security requirements at Philadelphia International Airport.

Santana admitted that while employed as an airline employee, he repeatedly used his employee credentials to enter the secure area of the airport with large amounts of United States cash to evade the required screening and inspection of his person and property by TSA officers.

Santana faces a maximum possible sentence of 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment.

The case is being investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Air Marshal Service, the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General, the New Jersey State Police’s Strategic Investigations Unit, and the Philadelphia Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Vineet Gauri of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, with assistance from Assistant United States Attorney Patrick C. Askin of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.