Delta worker at New York's JFK Airport stole bag carrying $250K: Feds
A Delta Air Lines employee was busted by the feds for swiping a bag carrying more than $250,000 while loading a plane headed for Miami – and the cash is still unaccounted for, according to officials and reports.
Quincy Thorpe was nabbed by the FBI at his Brooklyn home Thursday morning and charged with theft from an interstate shipment. He was released on an $80,000 bond following his Thursday afternoon arraignment in the Eastern District of New York.
A Delta spokesperson said the company is taking the allegations very seriously and the company is also conducting an independent investigation.
“The alleged actions of this employee are unacceptable and in no way reflect the professionalism and values we expect from Delta team members," the spokesperson said.
On Tuesday, Thorpe, an employee for Delta’s Ground Services at John F. Kennedy International Airport, was tasked with loading bags filled with foreign and United States currency into Delta Flight 1225, which was headed for Miami, according to a criminal complaint pertaining to his arrest.
He was supposed to scan and place the eight bags of cash – using his unique employee identification code – into the plane before it departed from Gate C-70, but instead only loaded seven, court papers show.
Thorpe’s attorney, Lonnie Hart Jr., did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.
“Once Flight 1225 arrived in Miami, the Victim Security Company realized that one of the eight bags, which itself contained smaller bags, was missing,” documents state. “[Delta surveillance footage] shows the defendant not scanning the Stolen Bag, but instead placing it into a container attached to a vehicle. The defendant left with the vehicle.”
The stolen bag was carrying smaller sacks of cash and was holding a collective amount of $258,205 that was being transported from a cruise ship, according to officials and the New York Post. The cash has still not been recovered.
Thorpe later notified his supervisors that he would not be reporting to work on Wednesday and Thursday.
When special agents showed up at his door on Thursday, he acknowledged that he was the person responsible for loading the valuable cargo into the aircraft, papers show.