"More scrutiny for Newark airport security"

Wednesday, October 2, 2002

More scrutiny for airport security
By MITCHEL MADDUX
The Bergen (NJ) Record


Federal authorities said Tuesday that they are conducting a wide-ranging
review of security practices - including intensive scrutiny of tens of
thousands of employees - at Newark Liberty International Airport.

U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie, New Jersey's chief federal
prosecutor, confirmed Tuesday that he is supervising the review.
Although he would not discuss specifics, officials involved said a
primary objective is to complete background, criminal history, and
immigration checks on some of the more than 24,000 people who work at
the airport.

Although a variety of new security measures have been implemented since
September 2001, there is still room for improved safeguards at one of
the nation's busiest airports, Christie said during an interview Tuesday
at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers in Manhattan, where Attorney General
John Ashcroft addressed a conference of federal prosecutors.

"We're working cooperatively with the Port Authority to try to take a
look at security at Newark airport," Christie said. "We do not feel we
have the problem fixed. We're continuing to look at it.

"There's nothing that we're not looking at. We're looking at
everything."

Investigators are looking for airport employees who used fraudulent
means to obtain Social Security numbers, are working unlawfully in the
country, or lied about criminal convictions, officials said.

The review follows Justice Department security reviews at other major
metropolitan aviation facilities across the nation. To date, more than
600 people at nearly 20 airports have been arrested and charged as part
of the initiative, known as "Operation Tarmac," Justice officials in
Washington said.

In April, a Justice Department operation focusing on Dulles
International and Reagan National airports in the Washington, D.C., area
netted 94 arrests, officials said. Many of those arrested possessed
airport identification badges that allowed them to enter restricted and
sensitive areas of the airports.

Ashcroft said after the operation that investigators from 11 agencies
scrutinized the employment records of more than 20,000 workers at the
two airports. Many of those charged worked in the airport food service
industry or held construction jobs or janitorial posts, officials said. 

Other arrests during the Justice Department probe have been made at
airports in Baltimore, Phoenix; San Diego; San Francisco; San Jose,
Calif.; Charlotte, N.C.; Boston; Sacramento, Calif.; Atlanta; Las Vegas;
Seattle; Portland, Ore.; and Salt Lake City, officials said. Most
recently, airports in Miami, Houston, and Denver were targeted for
reviews.

"We feel it is important to make sure that all individuals in these
areas are lawfully employed, in order to prevent another unfortunate
terrorist act from happening again," said Jorge Martinez, a Justice
Department spokesman in Washington. "Our main purpose of this operation
is to protect the safety of the American people." 

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates Newark and
the two other major area airports, is "fully cooperating with this
intensive review," said Greg Trevor, an authority spokesman.

Last year, the Secret Service conducted an assessment at Newark airport
that exposed a variety of "glaring security lapses," despite increased
safeguards and the presence then of federal officers and National
Guardsmen. For instance, newly hired airport workers were immediately
given unsupervised access to restricted areas and former employees were
not required to turn in their security passes.

Particularly disturbing to officials was the survey's finding that a
person could apply for a job at such a firm and immediately receive
unfettered airport access the following day. Such access is granted to
people wearing an airport identification badge, yet the survey found no
accountability for such badges and no single controlling authority
monitoring their issuance. In addition, no agency sought out employees
who fail to hand in their ID cards after they leave their airport jobs,
it was learned.


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