Photo Courtesy of Broward County Jail
A 25-year-old Spirit Airlines employee was arrested after purloining passengers’ belongings from their luggage at Fort Lauderdale- Hollywood International Airport.
According to the arrest report, Cush Karlson Joseph Vengeto was arrested while on the job at 300 Terminal Drive in Fort Lauderdale on January 18 for catching the spirit of thievery. Broward County Deputies and Spirit Airlines began to investigate Vengeto after complaints of “thefts of personal items from the interior of luggage which belonged to customers who flew on Spirit Airlines” started to become more frequent.
Read the arrest report here.
The Sunrise man is charged with third-degree felony theft of more than $750 and less than $5,000. Vengeto was released from Broward County Jail after his $1,000 bond was paid by Hailey Johnson on January 19. According to the bond release report, Johnson has the same home address as Vengeto.
Spirit Airlines has suspended Vengeto and an unidentified employee without pay. It’s not clear if the other employee was arrested for theft.
Spirit Airlines has had its share of bad press. Typically, the budget airline has to contend with passenger shenanigans. In August, a passenger lit a cigarette and acted as if it wasn’t prohibited during flights. The passenger was forced to pay a $4,000 fine.
In the same month, Spirit Airlines canceled hundreds of flights over a three-day period– leaving passengers stranded in airports nationwide.
Broward County Sheriff’s Department did not clarify if the stolen goods had been returned to passengers or what Vengeto’s intentions were. What we do know is Vengeto is going to have a hard way to go in terms of finding another job.