Man says charges in KC airport bomb scare 'absurd'
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - September 12, 2011
Anthony Falco Jr., 47, shook his head in disagreement repeatedly
Monday as U.S. Magistrate Judge John Maughmer read an FBI agent's
affidavit outlining actions that led to a two-count federal
complaint.
Falco, whose last known address is East Petersburg, Pa., mumbled
the word "lies" at one point, prompting a court attendant to ask
him to remain silent while the judge spoke.
Falco is charged with making false statements to federal agents
and trying to bring items simulating an explosive device through
security, then making statements that led agents to believe it was
a bomb. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of five years in
prison on each count.
Prosecutors say security screeners at the airport discovered
suspicious items in a carry-on bag as it went through the X-ray
machine. Among the items were a laptop computer and severally
individually wrapped packages investigators said were
"over-taped," which often is the case with homemade bombs.
Falco told officers that he did not give permission to open the
packages, which investigators believed contained components for
making a bomb. Police brought in a bomb-sniffing dog to sweep the
packages.
"During the K-9 sweep ... Falco began to chant Bible verses and
began to appear to pray, saying, `Father God America is going to go
down,"' the judge read. "He continued to say words similar to,
"You guys are going to be sorry if you open those packages."
When Maughmer finished reading, Falco told the judge the
affidavit was wrong.
"That's totally absurd," Falco said. "I never made any
statements. I love this country."
Maughmer interrupted and told Falco - who appeared in
knee-length shorts, a white T-shirt and tennis shoes that had the
laces removed - that the hearing wasn't the place for him to make
such statements.
Falco did not yet have a lawyer. The U.S. attorney's office in
Kansas City said his last known address is East Petersburg, Pa.
The affidavit says Falco's mother, Bea Whitehead, told members
of the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force that her son previously
received psychiatric treatment in New York.
James Whitehead, reached at a phone number attached to a home
previously listed as an address for Falco, said he had been advised
not to talk to reporters.
"My attorney said it's not in my best interest or Anthony's
best interest to say anything to the media," Whitehead said before
hanging up.
The Associated Press confirmed on Sunday that Falco briefly was
an officer with the New York Police Department roughly a decade
ago. U.S. Attorney Beth Phillips declined to address that issue
Monday, saying she was limiting her statement to what's in the
affidavit and complaint.
Security officers stopped Falco about 9:30 a.m. Sunday at a
Southwest Airlines checkpoint and asked if they could examine his
bag. Falco was taken into custody after becoming belligerent and a
Kansas City bomb squad later determined the bag didn't contain
explosives.
A Kansas City bomb squad used a high-pressure water blast to
disrupt the device outside the terminal and determine it did not
contain explosives.
The items in one package included a clock, single "A" battery,
an IPOD, a digital camera, a camera battery and wires, the
affidavit said. The other two packages contained two "C"
batteries, components of a digital camera and cellphone, along with
other personal items.
The Transportation Security Administration said it shut down
much of Terminal B, one of the airport's three separate terminals,
for several hours Sunday "out of an abundance of caution." The
terminal's parking lot also was closed, forcing passengers to park
at a different terminal hundreds of yards away.
The TSA move resulted in long, slow-moving lines at the
Southwest checkpoint that remained open near the end of the
terminal, and at the airline's ticket counter. At least two flights
were canceled because of the security situation and several others
were delayed.
Airport police walked with a bomb-sniffing dog along the long
lines of people who were waiting to check their luggage with a
skycap outside the terminal. Inside, incoming passengers poured
into a concourse already brimming with people waiting for delayed
flights, causing even more congestion.
Falco was detained as ceremonies were going on nationwide in
remembrance of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Four planes hijacked
by 19 men crashed into the World Trade Center, Pentagon and a field
in Pennsylvania, killing nearly 3,000 people.