Government workers

TSA screener arrested for swiping $5K from passenger

By PHILIP MESSING

A TSA screener was busted for allegedly stealing $5,000 from a passenger who was going through a security checkpoint, the latest in a string of snafus by the federal agency at the city's three airports, authorities said.

Alexandra Schmid, 31, of Brooklyn, was arrested after she was caught on surveillance cameras at Terminal 4 stealing the money from a Bangladeshi national, Port Authority police said.

The passenger had placed his jacket on the belt so it could be scanned. After it was scanned, the passenger complained that his money was missing.

Port Authority police spokesman Al Della Fave said Schmid was caught on camera taking the money, placing it into a latex glove and then going to the bathroom with it.

Schmid was later arrested by Officer Joseph Opramalla and taken into custody.

Schmid, who has worked for the TSA for 4 1/2 years, has been charged with grand larceny. She is awaiting arraignment in Queens Criminal Court.

The arrest is the latest scandal to hit the TSA in the region.

On Monday,The Post reportedthat a federal probe into allegedly lax security at Newark Airport led to the suspension of eight workers for everything from stealing from passengers to sleeping on the job to even failing to screen luggage for potential bombs

The investigation is targeting Transportation Security Administration screeners and supervisors assigned to the reportedly problem-plagued baggage area of Terminal B, which handles Delta and many foreign airlines.

The Post reported that hidden surveillance cameras caught several TSA screeners sleeping while on duty.

On Tuesday, The Port reportedthat clueless TSA agents found two possible pipe bombs in a passenger’s luggage at LaGuardia Airport this past Monday -- and kept them in a public area for six hours without notifying cops.

TSA bozos at one point left the pipes, which eventually turned out to be harmless, resting on a radiator as hundreds of fliers passed through security nearby.

“Six hours to report a potential bomb? It’s outrageous,” one Port Authority police official fumed.

The stunning security screw-up, a violation of TSA policy of alerting police to all suspicious activity, began at about 11:30 a.m. at the central terminal when the male flier’s bags passed through an X-ray machine.

The flier left the pipes behind and it wasn’t until 3 p.m., with the devices still lying around the screening area, when the supervisor finally realized he should notify someone.

The devices turned out to be harmless.