CNBC-Linked Crew Arrested After Caught Sneaking Fake Bomb Into Airport
NBC and its affiliates have enough issues with fake news. Why, just ask Brian Williams. The good thing for them, I suppose, is that fake news won’t get you arrested.
Fake bombs, however, are a different story.
According to NJ.com, at least seven people on a television crew filming for a CNBC show were taken into custody after trying to sneak a fake explosive past security at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, the Transportation Safety Administration announced on Thursday.
No names were released, and the Port Authority — which is responsible for all three major airports in the New York City area — only said it was investigating the incident.
According to CNN, the Port Authority Police Department said that “the item was in a carry-on bag and resembled a possible explosive device.”
One source told CNN that the fake bomb “was made up of vacuum cleaner parts and wires,” while another source told NJ.com that “the fake explosive device was a length of PVC pipe with wires sticking out from it.”
Members of the camera crew say they hired engineers to build the device.
While CNBC is best known for its financial reporting, the network airs reality programming in the hours when the market isn’t trading and/or bald, hypercaffeinated buffoons aren’t smashing sound-effect buttons and giving out dubious investment advice.
In this case, the crew was from “Staten Island Hustle,” a show set to premiere later this spring which, according to the network, “follows a group of animated, life-long friends and businessmen from Staten Island who’ve yet to come up with an idea or product too far-fetched for them to invest in.”
“Without MBAs (or even college degrees) these men prove that grit, ingenuity, and street smarts may be the real key to success.”
Or not.
The TSA says the crew “attempted to intentionally carry through the security checkpoint an item in a carry-on bag that had all of the makings of an improvised explosive device. At the same time, others in the group covertly filmed the encounter.”
“The preliminary investigation indicates that all were in collaboration and claimed to be working for a television network,” Lisa Farbstein, TSA’s acting director of media relations, said in a press release.
“The group did not make it past the checkpoint because TSA officers detected the item, which was concealed in a roller bag.”
“Transportation security is serious business. Our officers did an excellent job in detecting the device and following protocol once it was identified,” Tom Carter, federal security director for the TSA’s New Jersey branch, said. “I am proud of the way it was handled by our TSA team, by the Port Authority Police, and our Federal law enforcement partners.
“This type of stunt is reckless, dangerous, uninformed and totally insensitive to the reality of the terror threat we face. It is the equivalent to yelling ‘Fire!’ in a crowded theater or using a toy gun to rob a bank and then claiming that it was just a toy, just to see what happens,” Carter continued.
“There is simply no excuse for trying to do something like this knowing it had the great potential to cause panic with the intention of turning that panic into a reality show. The reality is that all of these individuals were arrested and face heavy civil penalties as well.”
Those civil penalties could be in excess of $13,000 for each security violation, the TSA said.
Meanwhile, Endemol Shine North America — the production company behind “Staten Island Hustle,” apologized for the disruption at the airport.
No word yet on whether, due to recent exigencies, they are considering a spinoff called “Rikers Island Hustle.”
Please like and share on Facebook and Twitter with your thoughts on these arrests.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
