TSA Officer Accused of Stealing from Passengers

A Transportation Security Administration employee faces grand theft charges after allegedly stealing items from travelers at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, authorities said Thursday.

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Strauss-Kahn Case in Turmoil

The rape case against former International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn is in serious doubt, as recent information has raised credibility questions about the maid making the accusations against him. On Thursday, Prosecutors asked that Strauss-Kahn’s bail be reduced and the terms of his strict house arrest be reviewed.

Although forensic tests found clear evidence of a sexual encounter between Strauss-Kahn, 62, and the woman at a New York hotel, prosecutors have come to doubt much of what she has told them about her life and her whereabouts in the hours around the alleged crime.

Prosecutors believe the woman, who emigrated from Guinea, lied on her application for asylum in the United States, with a claim that she had been raped. When first asked about the claim by prosecutors she told the story “in a believable way,” a source told NBC News, but when asked about it again, she admitted that “she lied to them … and on the application about the whole rape claim.”

They also found disturbing ties linking her to people involved in drug dealing and money laundering. Within a day of the alleged assault, she was recorded in a phone conversation with a prisoner discussing the possible benefits of pursuing charges against Strauss-Kahn. The man had been arrested on charges of possessing 400 pounds of marijuana and is one of a number of people who have made cash deposits totaling $100,000 into the woman’s bank account in the last few years.

Beverly Hills Hotel Sued for Harrassment

LA Weekly: Two women and three men who worked at the Beverly Hills Hotel are suing the storied venue for sexual harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination, and wage violations.

The juiciest parts of the suit, filed in L.A. Superior Court yesterday, allege that hotel GM Alberto Del Hoyo made it a habit of sexually grazing women after touching their hands or making other, more acceptable contact.

But plaintiffs also claim Del Hoyo (who, we're told, is Spanish, and not Latino), was racist: "Mr. Del Hoyo mentioned numerous times never to hire blacks because they were lazy," the plaintiffs' attorney, Rob Hennig, told the Weekly. "And he repeatedly referred to Mexicans on staff as wetbacks."

The suit alleges that Del Hoyo made it known that a particular African American waiter was not to serve him at lunch simply because he's black.

A lawyer for the hotel told NBC Los Angeles, which broke the story of the suit yesterday, that "... the allegations made by these former employees are wholly without merit and we will vigorously defend this matter on behalf of the defendants."

The suit claims that the hotel knew about some of the allegations since 2006 but failed to take action, resulting in resignations of some of the plaintiffs.

Del Hoyo, Henning said, would touch hostesses at the hotel's famed Polo Lounge in inappropriate ways -- repeatedly: “He would touch them in such a way, at the podium -- touch their hand and then get to graze their breasts. It happened all the time it wasn't by accident. It was pretty obvious.”

The women claiming this are Wendy Giron and Kelley Morales. One of the plaintiffs, Nino O'Brien, says he faced discrimination at the property because he's half Indian. Plaintiff Robert Sulatycky says he was ordered not to hire blacks and only to hire beautiful women for hostess jobs.

Plaintiff Tim Dupree claims he was wrongfully terminated for, well, for being a man (as opposed to being the kind of hot chick Del Hoyo allegedly preferred).

Former Universal Employee Accused of Stealing Tickets

WFTV: A former employee is accused of stealing $1 million from Universal Studios, but she wasn't taking cash. WFTV learned Friday that she was taking complimentary tickets.

Universal officials said she didn't admit to the million dollars when they confronted her, but according to investigators, she did admit to taking a couple hundred thousand dollars worth, at $112 a ticket. That's a lot of people she allowed to walk into the parks without paying.

Carmen Kunstorf worked for the theme park's team member services. Her job was to distribute complimentary passes to employees for family and friends.

Former employee Kerri Murphy said it's a nice perk. "They used to give us employees a couple of tickets a month or every quarter," Murphy said.

But Universal said Kunstorf was coming in on weekends and taking extra tickets out in stacks, about 100 to 200 at a time. In fact Universal said a four-year audit shows she illegally gave away more than $1 million in tickets. When questioned, park officials said Kunstorf admitted to taking more than 1,800 tickets for park access over an 18-month period. That's a value of more than $208,000.

"It's surprising, it's sad. She's got two young girls. Wow," said neighbor Chris Leach. Neighbors in the upscale Windermere community said Kunstorf was a nice person and a good neighbor, but recently moved out.

Court documents show she told investigators that she wasn't selling the tickets, but was giving them to another park employee who had loaned her money. Kunstorf is out on a $5,000 bond for grand theft charges. She's been ordered to stay away from Universal Studios.

17 Charged in Miami Bar Girl Scheme

NBC Miami: Authorities say a group of Eastern European beauties and their handlers ran a massive scheme to bilk businessmen and tourists out of thousands by luring them to private South Beach clubs for costly booze.

Prosecutors have charged 17 people in the alleged scheme to defraud which was broken up by the FBI, Miami Beach Police and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. According to a criminal affidavit, the scheme was organized by South Beach club owners who brought women to Miami from Eastern Europe to work as "Bar Girls" or "B-Girls."

The B-Girls allegedly went to legitimate clubs and lured the businessmen and tourists to private clubs where the booze fix was in. The unsuspecting victims were charged exorbitant prices for bottles of alcohol, including as much as $5,000 for a bottle of champagne. With the liquor flowing, the B-Girls allegedly ordered bottles of wine and champagne and charged them to the victims' credit cards. Charges were often unsigned, unauthorized or signatures were forged, the feds say.

When victims disputed the charges, the suspects either threatened to have them arrested or gave photos of the victims in the club to credit card companies as proof of purchases.

"This international organized crime group has victimized tourists and defrauded them of tens of thousands of dollars," said John V Gillies, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Miami Field Office. "The crimes this group committed have affected our South Florida community and our economy."

Authorities say 88 victims have been identified. At least one was charged as much as $43,000 in the scheme. Feds say the B-Girls generally got a 20 percent take of the exorbitant bills while club owners got 10 percent.

The Feds list six clubs allegedly owned and operated by defendants, four of which have since closed. Steel Toast, at 758 Washington Avenue, and the Tangia Club, at 841 Washington Avenue are still in operation. Sixteen of the 17 defendants were arrested Tuesday night, including alleged organizers Albert Takhalov, 29, Svetlana Coghlan, 41, Isaac Feldman, 50, Stanislav Pavlenko, 39, Fady Kaldas, 35, and Siavash Zargari, 46. 44-year-old Alec Simchuk, remains at large.