| Item: | Former Airport Security Contractor Fined $110,000 for Falsifying Security Background Checks | | Date: | March 27, 2000 | | Type: | Press Release | | Summary: | Aviation Safeguards of Florida, Inc. was ordered to pay $110,000 in fines and restitution, and placed on 2 years probation, after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court in Miami, FL to charges of falsely certifying on at least 70 occasions that criminal background checks had been made on employees seeking access to secure areas at Miami International Airport. As a result, some employees were hired who might have presented a security risk to the traveling public. The employees screened passengers and provide pre-flight security checks on flights to Cuba.
Guillermo Blanco, Aviation Safeguards' former general manager was sentenced to 5 years in prison and ordered to pay $7,900 in fines and penalties for falsely claiming the firm had done background checks on 22 employees granted access to secure areas at Miami International Airport. He also admitted to transporting a minor across state lines for illegal sexual activity. OIG investigated the case with the Miami-Dade County Police Department, the FAA and the FBI. |
| Page: | http://www.dot.gov/affairs/1999/oig0499.htm | |
