Audit: Airport security has screeners with criminal records

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- One of the nation's largest airport security firms, already on probation for crimes some of its employees committed, is still using workers with criminal records, a government audit revealed Tuesday.

The audit of Argenbright Security looked at the Atlanta, Georgia-based corporation's operations at 14 airports and concluded that some workers have records that should disqualify them from employment. The audit was conducted by the Department of Transportation's inspector general and the Federal Aviation Administration. Its preliminary findings were released Tuesday.

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Argenbright is responsible for security at airports nationwide, including facilities in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Newark, New Jersey; Boston, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; and Washington.

Two planes used in the September 11 terrorist attacks were hijacked from Boston's Logan Airport, and one plane each was hijacked from Dulles International Airport and Newark International Airport.

Security failures

The audit revealed that several screeners had criminal backgrounds, including a screener at Washington state's Seattle-Tacoma International Airport who had been convicted on charges of being a felon in possession of a handgun.

At Dulles, the audit noted, agents arrested a man after he carried a pocketknife through a security checkpoint manned by Argenbright screeners. Also at Dulles, seven out of 20 screeners were removed from their jobs after they failed a basic skills test.

At Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Texas, investigators found seven employees suspected of illegally working in the United States, the audit reported.

Argenbright was recently acquired by Securicor, a United Kingdom-based corporation. It and three other multinational aviation security companies comprise the Aviation Security Association.

The association's lawyer, Kenneth Quinn, said the findings "serve to underscore the need for direct federal oversight and regulation of airport screening."

'Red or green light'

The security industry, he said, wants the federal government to be directly responsible for conducting criminal and immigration status checks on airport screeners -- just as governments in Europe and other parts of the world do.

"We want a red light or a green light from the government" on whether to hire an employee, Quinn said. "We shouldn't be relying on private companies and the airlines to authenticate background checks."

Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta requested the audit after the Department of Justice filed a motion last week against Argenbright Security for violating terms of its probation stemming from incidents at Philadelphia International Airport.

Three managers pleaded guilty in May 2000 to serious crimes involving the security violations, and the company was ordered to pay more than $1.5 million in fines and restitution as well as take steps to prevent the violations from recurring.

Separately, Mineta ordered Friday a review of background checks done on all U.S. airport security screeners, starting with those employed at the nation's 20 largest airports.