Pubdate: Thu, 26 Aug 1999
Source: Standard-Times (MA)
Copyright: 1999 The Standard-Times
Contact:  25 Elm Street, New Bedford, MA 02740
Website: http://www.s-t.com/
Forum: http://www.s-t.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi?actionintro
Author:  Meg Richards, Associated Press writer

AMERICAN AIRLINES WORKERS ARE ARRESTED IN DRUG PROBE

MIAMI -- Dozens of American Airlines ramp workers and contract employees
were arrested and charged yesterday in a drug ring that investigators said
smuggled cocaine and marijuana into the United States in food carts, garbage
bags and carry-on luggage.

The bust is believed to be the biggest set of drug arrests involving a U.S.
airline.

The arrests resulted from two sting operations, one of which was prompted in
part when a pilot complained last year that his coffee tasted weak.
Investigators discovered 15 pounds of heroin in coffee packs aboard an
American plane.

The drugs were put aboard American Airlines planes in Colombia and Central
America, flown to Miami, and then went on to Philadelphia, Washington,
Baltimore and Cleveland, investigators said. The defendants also allegedly
smuggled guns and explosives that undercover agents had given them.

At least 50 people were indicted on drug charges, including 30 American
baggage handlers and ground crew workers at Miami International Airport,
where American is the largest carrier. It is also the biggest U.S. airline
serving Latin America.

Separately, eight people -- including seven American employees -- were
indicted in New York in a similar case.

Also, officials in Colombia identified American as the airline used by 10
Colombians charged over the weekend with smuggling more than a half-ton of
heroin to Miami.

"Greed is the bottom line. They did it all for a price," said Ed Halley, a
spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

In the Miami and New York cases, no one in management was arrested and no
American pilots or flight attendants were indicted.

American said it has cooperated with investigators and blamed the problem on
a "small group of employees."

"This is a company with zero tolerance for illegal drugs," said Larry
Wansley, American's managing director of corporate security.

Many of the defendants face life in prison if convicted.

In the past several months, the airline has also suffered a fatal crash in
Arkansas that raised safety questions, been sued for predatory pricing and
been hit with labor unrest that inconvenienced thousands of passengers.
American officials admit to feeling besieged, but defend their performance.

"It would be totally unfair to draw any conclusions by linking any of these
events," spokesman John Hotard said. "This is an industry and an airline
that lends itself to always being in the public eye, and many times, not in
a favorable light."

In addition to 30 American employees, 13 current or former employees of
LSG/Sky Chefs, a food service contractor owned by Lufthansa Airlines, were
indicted in the sting. Also indicted were an Immigration and Naturalization
Service agent, an inspector with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a
Broward County sheriff's deputy who worked part-time as a baggage handler.

"Because it was an undercover operation, it's hard to judge, but they were
making lots of money doing this, more than their salaries," said Drug
Enforcement Administration spokesman Brent Eaton.

The drugs, which included bogus cocaine and heroin supplied by agents, were
smuggled in airline food carts, garbage bags and backpacks by uniformed
workers who eluded metal detectors and airport X-rays.

Bill Slay, a spokesman for LSG/Sky Chefs in Arlington, Texas, said the
caterer cooperated with federal investigators.

The busts were only the latest involving drugs and American.

In February, agents in Puerto Rico arrested an American Airlines ramp
supervisor on charges of trying to smuggle 205 pounds of cocaine into the
United States.

In 1997, federal agents in Miami arrested six American mechanics suspected
of smuggling a half-ton of cocaine and heroin by stashing the drugs behind
cabin walls and ceiling panels and in the cockpit electronics.

In 1996, mechanics conducting an overnight maintenance check on an American
jet in Dallas found 64 pounds of cocaine stuffed into the wall panels of the
Boeing 757's cockpit.

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