Nov 26, 2008 6:28 pm US/Eastern
Man Accused Of Posing As Armed Federal Agent
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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Stephen Grant (file image)
WBZ
A part-time assistant harbor master on Cape Cod has been charged by federal authorities with pretending to be an armed federal agent so he could bypass airport security.
Forty-eight-year-old Stephen Grant of Rockland was freed on $50,000 unsecured bond following his initial appearance Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Boston.
WHAT HAPPENED?Grant was flying from Boston to San Diego on Jan. 1, 2007, when he approached an American Airlines ticket counter at Logan International Airport and flashed a badge he carries as a part-time assistant harbor master in Chatham, according to federal prosecutors.
Grant, a medical supplies salesman, also filled out a "flying while armed" form and wrote that he worked for the Department of Homeland Security, prosecutors said. He did not bring a gun on the plane.
Grant told WBZ filling out the forms was a mistake.
"I had a license to carry and from a class I took I thought you were supposed to if you could," he said. "And that was my mistake."
He allegedly did the same on his return trip to Boston three days later.
But this time, according to court documents, he was invited into the cockpit, was told the identity of the two air marshals on the flight, and was informed who else on the plane was armed, which raises security concerns.
WHO IS HE?Grant denies lying. He once worked for a Coast Guard subcommittee, which is a division of Homeland Security. However, he is not an agent, officer or employee of Homeland Security and has never been authorized to represent himself as a DHS agent.
On the license to carry he obtained from the Rockland Police Department, Chief John Llewelyn notes, "He put down DHS and had a polo shirt with DHS embroidered on it."
Grant is charged with impersonating a federal agent and making false statements.
If convicted, he faces a maximum of three years in prison on the impersonation charge, and a maximum of five years behind bars for making false statements.
TSA MAKES CHANGES
At the airport, law enforcers now need advance permission to fly armed.
"We have added substantial layers of security to this process," said TSA spokesman George Naccara.
The case took almost two years to come to light so federal authorities could tighten airport security and prevent similar incidents, said Christina DiIorio-Sterling, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office.
"The flying public can be assured that this has led to a change of procedures to ensure that credentials are properly vetted," said Ann Davis, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration.
Grant is due back in court Dec. 12.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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