Notable if only for the size: TSA agent steals $200K worth of gear, resells it on eBay

…one agent had single-handedly absconded with over $200,000 worth of travelers’ belongings, primarily cameras and laptops… travelers have no real means of protection when it comes to guarding against inside job thievery like this.

I’m going to assume that the amount stolen by a given TSA agent is a poisson distribution, so though I expect this agent is an outlier in terms of magnitude, he reflects a general laxity towards employing criminals in the TSA. To be fair, security is hard, and a job riffling through other people’s things with near immunity is going to attract thieves.

But to be clear, there’s something deeply disturbing about being treated like criminals by the TSA every time you fly through the USA, when the TSA employs criminals.

/grumpy.

Update (Nov 20): A helpful reader writes in to point out that air marshals are worse.