Terrorists, Crooks Allowed to Keep FAA Pilot's Licenses

[sabra]

Source: ABC News

Citing ABC News Report, Senators Call for Investigation of TSA Vetting Process

Dec. 18, 2009 —

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has asked the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Inspector General to investigate why suspect individuals  including terrorists and drug kingpins  have been able to retain their Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) pilot's licenses.

In a letter to DHS Inspector General Richard Skinner, the senators cited media reports, including an ABC News investigation, that questioned the ability of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to purge the FAA's aviation list of individuals posing a threat to transportation security.

In one high-profile case reported by the Blotter, a well-known drug boss named Fernando Zevallos Gonzalez was able to keep his U.S. aviation license despite being on a "black list" of foreign drug kingpins since 2004.

The Blotter also reported the names of two other men tied to drug trafficking and two convicted arms traffickers who still had their licenses as of Oct. The New York Times revealed that individuals charged or convicted of terrorism-related crimes were also able to retain their FAA licenses. While some of the individuals named in the ABC News and Times reports have since been stripped of their licenses, others have not, according to Safe Banking Systems (SBS), the New York computer security firm that first uncovered the suspect cases.

"These reports are disturbing, and suggest that people who are believed to pose security threats to our nation continue to have ready access to aircraft and airport facilities," the letter to Skinner states. The letter is signed by senators Jay Rockefeller, D-W. Va., chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Tex., ranking member of the committee; Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security; and Jim DeMint, R-S.C., ranking member of the subcommittee.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/terrorists-crooks-faa-pilots-licenses/story?id=9363727

[Blue_Tires]

1. who wants to bet Gonzalez has done a couple of favors for

"the company" over the years??

[clear eye]

2. You beat me to it.

Before I saw your comment, I was planning to write that most of the ones whose licenses they didn't pull after being alerted were probably CIA assets.