Office of Special Counsel Investigating TSA Officials at Buffalo Niagra Airport

According to an anonymous source, an investigation directed by the United States Office of Special Counsel has begun at airports in the Buffalo area. The investigation follows a number of controversies surrounding the Buffalo Niagara International Airport and surrounding airports over the last year.

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel is an independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency. OSC’s primary mission is to safeguard the merit system by protecting federal employees and applicants from prohibited personnel practices, especially reprisal for whistleblowing.

The agency provides a secure channel through its Disclosure Unit for federal workers to disclose information about various workplace improprieties, including a violation of law, rule or regulation, gross mismanagement and waste of funds, abuse of authority, or a substantial danger to public health or safety.

The Buffalo Niagara International Airport is the largest Category II airport in the country.

According to the source, several high ranking TSA officials are among the subjects of the investigation, including: David F. Bassett, Federal Security Director at Greater Rochester International Airport; Lawrence (Larry) Fogg, Buffalo's current acting Federal Security Director; and Tom Koch, Assistant Federal Security Director of Operations at Buffalo International.

Bassett and Fogg have reportedly been instructed to meet with the TSA's Northeast Area Federal Security Director, George Nacarra, in Boston next month.

Buffalo area airports have been the subject of controversy for some time.

Two TSA training officers were terminated from employment by the agency earlier this year after blowing the whistle on unsafe practices at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport. Thomas Bittler and Ray Guagliardi reported a number of security violations to management, including the failure of screeners to test some bags for explosives as required by federal law.

"I've seen so many violations, I don't know where to begin," Guagliardi said.

"I trained these people," Bittler said, "so I knew what they were supposed to be doing."

But local TSA management failed to heed the warnings and act on the reports, the two have said. In fact, management's reponse was to tell the security-conscious trainers that they were responsible only for assisting screeners, not for supervising them.

"When I questioned what was going on," says Bittler, "I was told to keep my mouth shut and do what I was told whether it was right or wrong."

Both men claim that TSA officials told them that they should never have complained.

"If you people would just learn to shut your mouths, you would still have your jobs," one supervisor reportedly told Bittler.

Management's response seems to contradict TSA's own published policy. According to the agency's Interim Policy on Employee Responsibilities and Conduct, TSA screeners are required to "Report known or suspected violations of law, regulations or poplicy through appropriate channels and fully participate in inquiries."

The same document states that supervisors must "provide positive leadership and serve as a role model for subordinates by demonstrating a commitment and sense of responsibility to their job and loyalty to the organization."

Not deterred by management's apparent lack of interest, the men then wrote a letter detailing their concerns to TSA headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. Two months later their service was rewarded with termination from employment.

"[T]he new FSD fired [them] for documenting policy deviations and violations," wrote one TSA employee, "...to intimidate the screeners. He said loud and clear, 'this is what happens to people who write letters of greviance'."

The TSA claimed the terminations were simply part of a "staff reorganization."

This past November, Bittler was among a number of other TSA employees who were recognized for their exemplary service during an agency awards ceremony in Washington, D.C.

"It's pretty ironic to have Adm. James Loy (then head of the TSA) personally give me a bronze award for individual achievement in November and be terminated in January," he said. "I think this tells you something is very wrong at TSA Buffalo."

Bittler filed a complaint with Office of Special Counsel for wrongful termination.

Former TSA staff members also contend that TSA management has created an atmosphere of intimidation and fear among screeners at Buffalo. One screener, who asked not to be identified, said a manager had told a group of workers that Bittler's termination is an example of what happens "to people who write letters."

Similar complaints have been echoed from screeners around the nation. And the TSA's own 2004 Organizational Assessment Survey of more than 22,000 screeners lends credence to the complaints. According to a "Corporate Snapshot" of the survey results, released by the TSA in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, the majority of TSA employees are dissatisfied with supervisors, communication, and work conditions.

TSA Screeners and trainers are not the only ones who have been treated unfairly, however. According to a document obtained by Screeners Central, Buffalo airport's former Federal Security Director Jay W. Stroup was also targeted.

The document, purportedly a transcript of a deposition of Tim Glasow, the former Acting Northeast Area Director for TSA, is related to a Merit Systems Protection Board review case (docket no. NY-1221-04-0193-S-1). (Note: the authenticity of the document has not been independently verified.)

Glasow has drawn criticism from screeners, including several who have posted comments on screener-related web sites and message forums.

"He served as Acting [Area Director] for over a year," wrote one screener. "Yet, his only qualification is that he went to the Naval Acadamy with several individuals who are now -- or were at one time -- his superiors."

When confronted with reports of security violations, Glasow allegedly replaced the Federal Security Director Jay Stroup with Rochester security director David Bassett, a former Naval Acadamy class mate of Glasow's, who was named Acting Federal Security Director at Buffalo airport in mid-November, 2003.

When Buffalo News staff reporter Sharon Linstedt attempted to contact Bassett to comment on Stroup's allegations he did not return her phone calls.

Jay Stroup was appointed as Buffalo's Federal Security Director (FSD) by Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta on October 11, 2002. In February, 2003, he was quoted as saying, "[A]ll of us recognize that security is an on-going process and it works at the optimum level only through commitment and consistency," according to one news article.

Indeed, Stroup seemed to have a reputation for dealing with problems and trying to help rank-and-file screeners.

"He was strict but fair," said one former employee, who noted that Stroup was known as a hard-nosed leader who tackled problems and addressed security issues head-on. "If you did your job you had no problems. But if you didn't, he would deal with it."

"He was responsible for saving over 45 jobs when the right sizing issue was going on," said another.

Stroup, who Transportation Secretary Mineta once characterized as an "experienced professional" who was "integral in furthering the Transportation Security Administration's commitment to first-class security and first-class customer service," found himself on the receiving end of unhappy superiors within the administration.

Stroup said that he was forced to resign his Senior Executive position with the TSA on October 2, 2003, under pressure from TSA superiors, after allegations of nepotism and mishandling of a disciplinary matter involving a subordinate. His resignation came after just one day before his probation period would end.

In the purported deposition transcript, Area Director Glasow was asked who made the decision to terminate Mr. Stroup and when? Glasow replied "I did," and "after viewing the management inquiry."

According to the deposition transcript, the management inquiry was an administrative fact-finding document, which was prepared by a member of the Syracuse Federal Security Director's staff "to look into some allegations that headquarters had received regarding matters in Buffalo."

Glasow indicated that his termination letter indicated that he had "lost trust and confidence in Mr. Stroup's ability to continue to lead the effort there at Buffalo."

According to a Buffalo News report this past February, Stroup's key concerns included improper handling of baggage screening at the airport. Stroup alleges that screeners ran only a fraction of bags through explosives-detection devices, in violation of a federal mandate requiring all checked luggage be scanned.

"I know of several instances where one in five bags is screened, and that aggravates me to no end," Stroup was quoted in the article. "That means there's a four-out-of-five chance of a bomb getting onto a plane in Buffalo. It's dangerous and it's wrong."

"Several of his staff members, along with some screeners, were responsible for his removal," says one former TSA employee who worked at the Buffalo airport.

Others also support Stroup's claims. According to several former TSA employees, Stroup reportedly terminated three screeners who were caught sleeping in the baggage-screening room while on duty, but the screeners were later reinstated by the new management team after Stroup left.

Five TSA employees even contacted the Washington office of Congressman Jack F. Quinn (R) regarding "personnel issues" and later met with Quinn in Buffalo in January.

Some screeners say that the congressional representative lost interest in their complaints, and later his office refused to take their calls or allow them to see TSA responses to their concerns. New York Senator Hillary Clinton's office was also contacted by some of the concerned screeners, with "very little reaction," they say.

"It's amazing how many people who just don't care," said one screener.

"The bottom line is if you're TSA management, all the people in [Washington] D.C. want to hear is good news," said one former TSA employee, "If they hear bad news they [TSA] will fire you!"

According to Bittler, however, Congressman Quinn has been "very, very supportive" in regards to his and other cases.

Stroup has said that he decided to break his silence on what he called "a very frightening situation" after a security incident at the Buffalo airport in which screeners discovered a jar containing an unknown substance in a passenger's luggage but the passenger was allowed to depart even though the substance had not been identified or declared safe.

"I hope that by going public," Stroup has said, "I can help protect the people who use the ... airport and the TSA staff members who want to do the right thing."

Stroup has filed a complaint with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel claiming whistleblower protection and has indicated that he is concerned that his resignation could taint the serious nature of his allegations.

Stroup has a hearing before the Merit System Protection Board in Buffalo next month.

When previously asked about Stroup's resignation by a reporter, TSA Northeast regional spokeswoman Ann Davis declined to comment on Stroup's allegations, stating that she wasn't aware of any concerns about security and safety at the Buffalo airport.

"The TSA at Buffalo would be pleased to cooperate with any security or policy review," she did say, however. "They are confident security at Buffalo is top-notch."

But "top-notch" is not the descriptor that some TSA employees would use, about security at the airport or the management in general.

According to sources familiar with the complaints and investigation, TSA Internal Affairs staff have visited the Buffalo airport on five separate occasions, but did little more than identify employees who made complaints and report those names to the Acting FSD and Area Director Tim Glasow.

According to one employee, "Internal Affairs came to [Buffalo airport] ... and did nothing but criticize those of us who expressed our concerns."

"There was no investigation," wrote one TSA employee at Buffalo, "or any attempt by the IA agents to validate the complaints, verify facts and follow-up on leads."

Indeed, according to the deposition transcript, Glasow stated, "Mr. Dennehy was asked to do some fact finding for me. I wouldn't call it an investigation."

While a formal investigation never took place, sources and the deposition transcript indicate that local TSA officials conducted a "Management Inquiry," which found no wrong doing on the part of management.

According to Mr. Glasow's testimony, employee Olivia Robinson told Glasow that there existed a hostile work environment at Buffalo and described "the abusive nature" of FSD Stroup and "his ability to lead the operational mission up there." She indicated that a lot of his staff felt that way. She didn't mention names or numbers, but she said that a lot of the staff feels that way. In addition, Robinson described Stroup "yelling at employees," his demeaning nature, and restrictions on allowing TSA staff to communicate with Area Director Glasow's staff here in Washington.

"They feared for their jobs if they were caught communicating with our staff," Glasow said.

But some employees allege that Mrs Robinson intentially did not file a formal complaint with the agency regarding the alleged sexual harassment or hostile work enviroment due to time constraints.

"Mr. Stroup's probationary period was coming to an end," said one screening, suggesting that the informal complaint was made in order to justify Stroup's termination prior to him passing his probationary period.

When asked if he caused any inquiry or investigation to be initiated with respect to the allegations against Mr. Stroup, Glasow said, "No," indicating that he "had enough with the management inquiry" and "that her (Robinson's) discussion with me validated in my estimation some of the things that came out of the management inquiry."

Stroup was not approached about the allegations by Ms. Robinson and the other anonymous employees, however, before Glasow drafted his letter of termination to Stroup.

"Don't you think it would have been fair to confront him with that," Stroup's attorney asked, to which Glasow replied, "In hindsight, maybe yes."

A charge of nepotism was also leveled against FSD Stroup. An anonymous letter included in the management inquiry alleges Stroup violated TSA's policy against nepotism when he hired his brother-in-law, Dallas Ulbrich, as the screening operations officer at Buffalo.

But according to statements in the deposition, the inquiry report did not conclude that the charge was substantiated, however, or that the hiring was, in fact, a violation of TSA policy. Glasow said under oath that he did not conduct any research into the degrees necessary to determine whether or not nepotism rules were actually violated but instead relied on the opinion of other staff.

Glasow indicated that the management inquiry was the primary justification for Glasow's decision to terminate Stroup, although the management inquiry report itself states "There is no indicia of proof of any wrong doing by Mr Stroup."

One source familiar with the investigation said that since the Office of Special Counsel's investigation was announced, "they [management] have all been very, very nervous. [T]hese guys have never ever told the truth and for them to do so now means there is alot of pressure on them."