"Gaming the System: Congressman seeks suspension of Mississippi FSD"

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Thompson seeks suspension of Jackson-Evers security chief
By Chris Joyner
The Jackson (MS) Clarion Ledger


Second District Rep. Bennie Thompson has called on Mississippi Federal
Transportation Security Director Larry Rowlett to be suspended pending an
official investigation into allegations of security lapses at Jackson-Evers
International Airport.

In a letter sent today to Transportation Security Administration Assistant
Secretary Edmund "Kip" Hawley, Thompson said he is "enormously troubled" at
accusations that TSA personnel are tipped off by management to the presence
of undercover teams assigned to test security at the airport.

Those allegations, along with claims that management at times showed a lax
attitude toward dangerous items in carry-on luggage, appeared in a story
Sunday in The Clarion-Ledger. On Monday, Thompson, who is the ranking
Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, cited the report in his
call for an official investigation by the TSA inspector general into the
agency's operations at the airport.

"Removing FSD Rowlett while TSA and/or the OIG investigate would send a
strong signal to TSA personnel that you take these allegations seriously,"
Thompson said in his letter. "More broadly, it sends a signal across TSA to
all employees at all airports that you will act boldly to ensure the
integrity of our entire aviation security system. 

Last week, TSA spokesman Christopher White disputed the claims of current
and former TSA employees who talked to The Clarion-Ledger. Rowlett has yet
to respond to questions submitted Monday by e-mail from the newspaper.

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