Most Americans like to believe that those in power or positions of authority are there to protect them and do the right thing.
But without fail, power always corrupts and unfortunately it’s becoming more and more clear that simply brushing this level of corruption off as merely “a few bad apples” is incredibly naive.
And now a U.S. Customs officer just admitted to committing terrible crimes that will make you never want to travel again.
Customs and Border Protection officer targets fellow Americans
William Timothy, 43, was a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer working at Naples Airport in Florida.
He recently pleaded guilty to stealing close to $19,000 in cash from international passengers who were arriving at the airport.
This week, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida announced that Timothy, who is from Ave Maria, faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.
The official charge is listed as one count of an officer or employee of the United States converting the property of another.
According to official documents, there are 17 cases and 18 passengers listed as complainants.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement, “According to the plea agreement, between mid-2023 and early-2024, Timothy stole approximately $18,700 in cash from airline passengers during 17 incidents of theft uncovered by CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility Investigators.”
They added that the evidence collected during the investigation “showed that Timothy was surreptitiously stealing cash from arriving international passengers during border enforcement examinations and currency verifications performed as part of his official duties as an assigned CBP Officer at Naples Airport.”
According to prosecutors, Timothy will pay “full restitution to the victims of his thefts, and he has further agreed to immediately resign from his employment with CBP” as part of the plea agreement.
At the time of publishing, a sentencing hearing date has not yet been set.
The issue with missing cash first came to light when a criminal complaint was filed in January 2024 stating that Timothy conducted a “border enforcement examination and currency verification” of an “international airline passenger who traveled on a private aircraft from the Bahamas” and arrived at the Naples Airport in May 2023.
Later, the passenger noticed they were missing around $2,200 of the money they handed to Timothy during the examination.
The original criminal complaint from January indicated that “to date, Timothy has filed no report or documentation which would serve to justify any seizure of cash” from any passenger.
Crimes caught on camera
Not only did passengers complain about their missing cash, but some of the incidents were caught on camera.
In the case of the passenger coming from the Bahamas, surveillance video reviewed by investigators showed Timothy putting “three stacks of bills aside,” and “he did not return” them to the passenger.
The complaint reads that after Timothy set aside “approximately 22 bills – which are all believed to be $100 bills – Timothy also appears to place Customs Declarations forms on top of the currency.”
It continues to say that his actions are “believed to be an effort to conceal the cash he took from Passenger #1.”
“After Passenger #1 departs, Timothy can be seen retrieving the Customs Declaration forms – and the cash concealed underneath – and walking away from the camera,” the complaint concluded.
US Political Daily will keep you updated on any developments to this ongoing story.
