Airlines are known for providing transportation from place to place but not for gambling. However a recent airport in Pennsylvania made headlines for being involved with a gambling ring. Several employees of the TSA have been found to be competing in a gambling ring on the premises of the airport of Pittsburgh International.
The gambling ring was huge, with over sixty employees of the airport affected. Five of the employees found to be participating in the intra-office gambling ring were given a termination letter while forty seven were suspended from their position. Ten more employees were given reprimand letters. Each employee has the opportunity to appeal their case. Early reports seem to show that the group was wagering on certain sports games, such as March Madness and NFL games.
CBS covered this story and the TSA released a statement on the subject which read: “TSA holds all of its employees to the highest standards of conduct and accountability. The agency has taken the appropriate and necessary steps to discipline those involved to include employment terminations, suspensions or letters of reprimand.”
The report went on to state that the TSA found the amount of money wagered was not large enough to press criminal charges. Overall the investigation of the gambling ring took many months and every person employed at the airport was considered during the investigation. The airport has close to 300 employees working for TSA.
The TSA decided to classify the gambling ring as ‘small time’ but despite this fact, the TSA decided to take the situation very seriously. The TSA feels as though gambling situations can be considered relevant to the security of the airport.
Kim Kraynak-Lambert is the president of a local chapter of American Federation of Government Employees and she commented in an interview with a Pittsburgh news outlet about the incident. The union will be contesting the dismissals as well as the suspensions of each employee found guilty of competing in the sports betting pool.