Five Miami airport ramp workers plead innocent in thefts MIAMI (AP) =97 Five Miami airport ramp workers pleaded innocent Thursday to= =20 charges that they schemed to steal up to $500,000 in valuables from checked= =20 British Airways baggage. U.S. Magistrate Judge John O'Sullivan set $50,000= =20 bail for the five men plus another ramp agent indicted with them Thursday,= =20 but the judge did not require the collateral sought by the prosecution.=20 Arnie Suri, attorney for Javier Munoz, told the judge that he thought the=20 prosecution "is exaggerating" the security risk in the case. As a bail=20 condition, the ramp agents, all non-citizens, were required to surrender=20 their travel and airport documents and stay away from airports. Four of the= =20 men are from Cuba, one from Honduras, and one from Haiti. When O'Sullivan=20 asked about the potential sentences, Assistant U.S. Attorney Teresa=20 Davenport said they would depend on the loss. "We cannot estimate that at this time because we're still getting the=20 information from British Airways," she said. But Suri said he was told the= =20 amount may reach $500,000. If the men pleaded guilty to the conspiracy=20 charge, he said sentencing guidelines call for six months in prison plus=20 six months house arrest. Prosecutors charged the handlers stole jewelry,=20 laptops and other valuables from baggage in aircraft cargo holds. The=20 airline took a high-tech approach after passengers reported losses but did= =20 not disclose exactly how it targeted the thieves. The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ The Trinbago Site of the Week: (TnT News) http://www.tntmirror.com/ (TnT News) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************