Laptop bursts into flames while boarding American Airlines flight, passengers evacuated
Aerial footage shows the bag where a laptop of a passenger onboard American Airlines flight 2045 caught fire during boarding at San Francisco International Airport. (Credit: KPIX-NNS)
A New York-based former American Airlines mechanic who was facing financial troubles before being convicted of conspiracy to traffic cocaine has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison in a plot where he hid bricks of the drug under a passenger plane cockpit, according to federal authorities.
Customs agents caught Paul Belloisi, a 56-year-old Smithtown resident, red-handed in 2020 after they discovered more than 25 pounds of the drug and swapped it out with a fake parcel covered in a substance that would later glow under black light, according to federal investigators. Court records show he had filed for bankruptcy three years earlier.
Homeland Security Investigations said in a statement that federal agents later staked out the plane and watched Belloisi head into the compartment where the fake drugs were hidden with an empty tool bag and a jacket with cutouts large enough to conceal the bricks.
Former American Airlines mechanic Paul Belloisi received a nine-year sentence in federal prison for his role in trafficking cocaine into the United States at John F. Kennedy International Airport. (Justice Department)
They shined the black light on his gloves and saw the tell-tale glow.
Federal authorities dubbed him a "corrupt inside man" and said the sentence should serve as a warning to other workers who intend to abuse their positions.
"Paul Belloisi put his personal gain before the safety of the aviation industry by abusing his position to participate in a scheme to import over 25 pounds of cocaine into the U.S., repeatedly storing smuggled narcotics within sensitive areas of passenger airplanes," HSI New York Acting Special Agent in Charge Darren McCormack said in a statement. "His demise should send a message to anyone attempting to exploit the aviation industry: HSI New York and our law enforcement partners are committed to maintain the safety of the U.S. domestic and international transportation infrastructure."
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Homeland Security Investigations says the holes in the lining of Belloisi's jacket were made to help him hide cocaine. (Justice Department)
American Airlines, which has not been accused of wrongdoing in the smuggling case, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to the federal criminal complaint, a flight arrived at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport from Jamaica on Feb. 4, 2020.
A Boeing 777 of American Airlines arrives from Milan at JFK International Airport in New York on Feb. 7, 2024. (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images)
Two Customs and Border Protection agents inspected the plane and found 10 bricks of cocaine hidden in a blanket in a compartment under the cockpit.
They swapped it out with fake bricks and a transponder that would alert them to movement in the compartment. HSI agents also assisted in visual surveillance from a distance.
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Federal authorities said they found Belloisi with this empty tool bag after he entered a jet compartment where they recovered more than 25 pounds of cocaine. (Justice Department)
Hours went by with no movement, but about 20 minutes before the plane's scheduled departure, Belloisi showed up and entered the compartment, according to the complaint. Five seconds later, he tripped the transponder.
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Judge Dora Irizarry handed down three sentences of 108 months to run concurrently for conspiracy to distribute cocaine, conspiracy to import cocaine and importing cocaine.
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