Paul Yashou, TSA Officer, Indicted For Stealing $23,000 Worth Of Watches From LAX Passengers

AOL Travel News:

TSA Officer Paul Yashou was indicted on Friday for stealing roughly $23,000 worth of watches from passengers' bags at Los Angeles International Airport after one of the purloined pieces was listed on EBay.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Yashou was arrested at his home after a $15,000 IWC GST watch he had sold to a jewelry store was put up for auction online. The watch's owner noticed it was listed and called law enforcement.

Read the whole story: AOL Travel News

Comments

[AAHewetson]

02:10 PM on 07/27/2011

I am a birdwatcher/photographer ... and have long been troubled by the following conundrum.

If you check optics (binoculars, spotting scope, cameras) they get stolen from your luggage by baggage handlers or TSA agents - on one trip a camera; on another trip my backup binoculars.

If you pack them in your carry on luggage they get trashed by TSA agents - like the agent who attempted to unscrew the lenses from my sealed binoculars (so that he could ensure that there was nothing bad inside the body of the binoculars), destroying the seal and voiding the warranty, or the agent, on a separate occasion, who unscrewed a lens from my spotting scope and then dropped it.on a hard floor, cracking the lens.

On all four occasions I filed paperwork to recover the cost of the stolen/damaged item. Three claims were denied; the fourth claim netted me a payment that covered about 1/5th the cost of the actual item.

Air travel sucked, sucks more now, and will get suckier in the future.

[Foodgrade]

11:46 PM on 07/26/2011

Well, if you think about it... Who else would do what TSA does?

[KrystalXxx]

08:46 PM on 07/26/2011

Not only are the TSA agents shaking us down, we are getting a real shake down. lol

[Reikoku Jaken]

08:14 PM on 07/26/2011

Protecting Americans...eh?

[Red Russet]

06:30 PM on 07/26/2011

You should never check a bag. You should send your bags by UPS or FED EX in advance. Box them up so they do not look like suitcases, or don't bother with the suitcase, just put your stuff in the box. No carousel time, no heavy lugging.

[camanokat]

09:35 PM on 07/26/2011

I did that last trip I took...both ways...so convenient and my stuff arrived the next day. UPS is a bargain.

[prdamericanmom]

02:43 PM on 07/26/2011

It was only a matter of time. Stuff gets stolen at airports all the time and it's really hard to trace. Kudos to the owner of this watch for being smart enough to monitor the Ebay merchandise.

[Dan Stewart]

10:41 AM on 07/26/2011

Theft by TSA is common.

[camanokat]

09:36 PM on 07/26/2011

That's why I make sure the good stuff is in my handbag.