Man accused of trying to bring fake bomb through airport security on 9/11 unfit for trial
- BILL DRAPER Associated Press
- First Posted: January 15, 2012 - 1:36 pm
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Pennsylvania man accused of
trying to take a fake bomb through a security checkpoint at Kansas City
International Airport on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terror
attacks has been deemed mentally incapable of standing trial.
Anthony Falco Jr., 47, whose last known address was
East Petersburg, Pa., is facing federal charges after security screeners
discovered suspicious items in a carry-on bag as it went through an
X-ray machine on Sept. 11, a busy Sunday morning at the Kansas City
airport.
A psychiatric examination late last year found Falco to
be suffering from mental illness and unable to understand the
seriousness of the charges against him or help with his own defense.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Gary Fenner ordered Falco hospitalized
for up to four months to determine whether he will ever be competent to
stand trial.
If Falco is still considered unfit for trial after four
months, the court can order administration of medication or other
treatment to render him competent for trial, assistant U.S. attorney Dan
Nelson said. If he's still not capable of going to trial after those
measures, prosecutors could consider civil, rather than criminal,
options for him.
Falco's mother told investigators her son has a history
of mental illness and had quit taking his medication just prior to the
airport incident. She told members of the FBI Joint
Terrorism Task Force that her son previously received psychiatric treatment in New York.
Prosecutors have charged Falco, who briefly worked as a
New York police officer, with making false statements to federal agents
and trying to bring items simulating an explosive device through
security.
The incident prompted the
Transportation
Security Administration to close down one of the Kansas City airport's
three terminals and a parking lot for several hours while authorities
tried to figure out what was in Falco's bag when he was stopped at the
Southwest Airlines checkpoint — then refused to give permission for
screeners to examine its contents.
A bomb-sniffing dog was brought in for a sweep of
several packages in his carry-on that had been "over-taped," which often
is the case with homemade bombs, but didn't detect explosives.
"During the K-9 sweep ... Falco began to chant Bible
verses and began to appear to pray, saying, 'Father God America is going
to go down,'" FBI special agent Jonathan Tucker wrote in an affidavit
recounting the incident. "He continued to say words similar to, 'You
guys are going to be sorry if you open those packages.'"
After using a high-pressure water cannon to blast the
packages outside the terminal, investigators found a clock, a digital
music player, digital camera, a camera battery and wires, the affidavit
said, but no explosives.
The incident created long lines as passengers had to be
rescreened at a different security checkpoint, causing worries among
some that they would miss their flights. At least two flights were
canceled and several other flights were delayed.
As passengers milled about the corridors of the
airport, ceremonies were going on nationwide in remembrance of the Sept.
11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Falco's federal public defender, Laine Cardarella, declined to comment.
