It is always fascinating when an agency responsibility for security and the safety of citizens hires people without performing a background check. It’s bad enough when they order the background check for employment screening and then fail to review it. I think it’s marginally worse when they don’t bother to run one at all.
But such is the case with the TSA apparently, when they hired a defrocked priest who would be responsible for, among other things, the patting down and searching of passengers. According to the article in Philly.com, the defrocked priest had faced allegations he had molested two young girls. He was never convicted of the charges, but the Diocese did settle out of court for nearly $200 Thousand. That should tell you something right there.
Apparently, the defrocked priest was hired early on, post 9-11, and somehow, despite the Diocese’s revelation about the child molesting accusations, the defrocked priest was clear for his background check. Maybe because there were no real criminal convictions, the legal settlement was overlooked as evidence that something may be amiss. Not really much thinking outside of the box here. Since then, the former priest has moved up in the TSA and makes a pretty decent salary these days. And for all we know, he truly loves his job.
According to the article…”Today, the agency no longer does massive hirings. Employment is contingent on a full background check, and those without a positive evaluation from a previous employer are unlikely to pass the agency’s screening, according to the TSA.”
Good to know.
3 replies on “TSA Hires Defrocked Priest–No Background Check”
I recently did a post about this myself and am very conflicted. On the surface I wonder why the Philly Airport TSA would have hired someone with a reputation as a pedophile. Let’s face it, when you settle out of court like that it does raise suspicion even further.
The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized that the TSA was in a pickle from the beginning. With all the controversy about discrimination regarding background checks, many businesses are waiting until after the hire to do them, simply as a safeguard. Problem is that if you uncover anything negative, the law states that you can’t use it to reject or terminate a candidate/employee unless the negative info is directly related to their job. The TSA probably wasn’t happy at all about this guy’s past, but they figured that all of his work was going to be in plain view of the public (i.e. travelers) and his co-workers so there probably wouldn’t be a problem.
I’m not saying this is necessarily right or good, but it’s a really good example of the risks employers have to take and the flaws in protective legislation.
Good points, Mark.
its awesome. really very nice blog